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THE HISTORIANS 
OF GREECE 


THE OLYMPIC EDITION 


This edition is strictly limited to one thou- 


sand signed, numbered and registered sets, of 
which this is 


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Xenophon 


From a Rare French Steel Engraving made by 
Ingoigyin.1795\ after a Design by LeBarbier 
VAine. It is particularly interesting on 
account of the great Greek revival 
during the French Revolution. 


5. Se 
oe. 
ae 7% 


240i 


Chr | 
Wistorians | 


nt 


(jrervre 


Bol. Vill 


Nem York 
Che Candy-Thomas Company 


yright, 1909, by THE TANDY-TITOMAS COMPANY 


North German Illumination 


Centh Century 


HIS design is typical of the work of the 

Monks of Northern Europe during the Tenth 
and Eleventh Centuries. This style is directly 
descended from the English, but runs to gayer and 
more brilliant colouring. St. Boniface, the Saxon 
missionary who went to convert the Germans at the 
beginning of the Eighth Century, wrote to the 
Abbess Eadburga for some missals illuminated in 
bright colours which should be “ even as a glitter- 
ing lamp and an illumination for the hearts of the 
Gentiles,” hoping that the bright colours would at- 
tract the uncultivated minds of those among whom 
he laboured. From these gayer English missals 
this school was developed. 


THE HISTORY 


OF 


XENOPHON 


Translated from the Ancient Greek by 
HENRY GRAHAM DAKYNS, M. A. 


FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND LATE 
ASSISTANT MASTER IN CLIFTON COLLEGE 


VOLUME I 


NEW YORK 
THE TANDY-THOMAS COMPANY 


Copyright, 1909, by 


Tue Tanpy-THomas Company 


DF 


- “2 


AD 


ἐλ κι - 


ΠῚ 


Vi 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 
Hewienica Boox I 
Hewtenica Boox II 


Anasasis Boox I 


Anasasis Boox II . 


AnaBasis Boox III 


Anasasis Boox IV 


| 


ET Ril, ἀκα γα κα 


ie nea 
fi i, ἦν t 
ἂν \ 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PE ORMONG odin ae Gene ets vel arn ale ROMP nTeCe 


From a French Steel Engraving by Ingoig made in 
1795 after a Design by Le Barbier l’Ainé 


Intuminatep TiTLE-Pace 
Designed by Walter Tittle after ithe τ School 
of the Tenth Century 


Two Besitrcinec Towers 
After an Etching by J. Clark in ‘the British Μὰ θα 


BLocKADE AND SIEGE 
After an Etching of the Seventeenth ἜΝ in 1 the 
Collection of the Hon. Oswald Bauer 


Tue Oracte or Detrni ἌΝ 
From an Engraving by Ficcheiheis ifter a Paint- 
ing by Hoff 


Battering Ram 
After an Etching of He Higitecwth σαντες in ᾿ς 
British Museum 


Title 


PAGE 


74 


130 


190 


278 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


HE illustrations of this work have been designed 

to show the development of book ornamentation. 

The earliest forms which have survived the ravages of 

time are the illuminations of the Medieval manuscripts. 

This art was the outgrowth of the work of the Ancient 

Greeks and was in turn the source from which modern 
book illustration has developed. 

With the introduction of printing, wood cut blocks 
came into use but were rapidly supplanted by etchings, 
especially for finer work. This process dates from 1477 
and held first place for centuries until superseded by 
steel engravings and finally by modern photographic 
processes. 

Mr. Walter Tittle, who has made a life study of the 
subject, has designed a series of title-pages for this 
work. Each of these embodies the salient features of 
a particular school of Medieval illumination, thus epito- 
mising the whole history of the art. 

The illustrations also include reproductions of a num- 
ber of rare old etchings of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and 
Seventeenth Centuries, showing the Art of War among 
the Ancients, a number of the finest steel engravings of 
the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and finally 
some beautiful Twentieth Century photo-mezzotints of 
celebrated paintings, illustrating the life and customs 
of the Ancient World. 


INTRODUCTION TO 
XENOPHON 


est of Greece and Rome. He was the fa- 

vourite disciple of Socrates and himself a phi- 
losopher of the deepest and purest thought. He 
commanded armies in the field, sat in council chambers, 
and from early youth took a man’s part in the activi- 
ties of the times. “The sage and heroic Xenophon,” 
he is called by Gibbon; and if the learned historian 
had chanced to add another epithet to the two in 
which he has justly commemorated the virtues of Xeno- 
phon, perhaps with the “sage” and “hero” of Plu- 
tarch and Longinus he would have coupled the “ eru- 
dite” historian of Polybius or the “ accomplished ” 
scholar of Atheneus. For, undoubtedly, the youthful 
Athenian,—who in the company of Cyrus the younger 
tramped or galloped over the plains of Mesopotamia 
seven centuries and a half before the fatal march of the 
emperor Julian,—proved himself in the end an adept 
no less in the art of words than of warfare; and lived 
to achieve a rare and regal distinction as a statesman, 
philosopher and man of letters. 

Xenophon was born at Athens in the déme, or bor- 
ough, called Erchia. The year of his birth is nowhere 
mentioned; but as he was upwards of ninety when he 
died, and was alive B. C. 357, the year in which the 


1x 


\ A historian Xenophon ranks with the great- 


x INTRODUCTION 


assassination of Alexander of Phere, which he men- 
tions, took place, most authorities are inclined to place 
his birth about B. C. 444. If this date be correct, he 
was twenty years of age at the time of the battle be- 
tween the Athenians and Boeotians at Delium, B. C. 
424, in which he was present, and would probably have 
lost his life in the flight of the Athenians, had he not 
been rescued by Socrates, who, seeing him fall from his 
horse, took him upon his shoulders, and carried him for 
several stadia. 

What were the circumstances or rank of his father, 
Gryllus, we are not informed, but it may be fairly con- 
jectured from his intimacy with Proxenus, a man of 
consideration in Boeotia, and from the position which 
he held among the Greeks that followed Cyrus, that he 
was not of mean or poor parentage. 

Xenophon had at an early age become acquainted 
with Socrates. Their first meeting is thus described by 
Lertius: Socrates met him in a narrow passage, and 
being pleased with the modesty and beauty of his 
countenance, playfully put out his stick to prevent him 
from passing, and asked him, at the same time, where 
people could purchase provisions. Xenophon having 
given him an answer, he again asked where people 
might learn virtue and honor. Xenophon hesitating 
how to reply, Socrates said, “ Follow me then, and be 
taught.” From that time he became firmly attached 
to Socrates. 

After Xenophon’s return from Asia at the head of 
the Ten Thousand, and when he was intending to go to 
Athens, he learned that sentence of banishment had 
been passed against him by his countrymen, for the 


INTRODUCTION x1 


support which he had given to Cyrus, the friend of the 
Lacedemonians, during the Peloponnesian war. In 
consequence, it has been supposed that he remained in 
Asia, with Thibron and his successor, Dercyllidas. It 
is certain that in B. C. 396 he was in Asia with Agesi- 
laus, in his campaign against the Persians, and that, 
when Agesilaus was recalled to defend his country, he 
accompanied him to the battle of Coronea, in which 
the Thebans and Athenians were defeated by the Spar- 
tans, B. C. 394, 

The Lacedemonians, after this battle, perhaps at 
the instance of Agesilaus, presented Xenophon with a 
house and estate at Scillus, a town of Elis near 
Olympia, where he was joined by his wife Philesia, 
and his two sons, Gryllus and Diodorus, who, by the 
advice of Agesilaus, had been educated at Sparta. 
Philesia is said to have been his second wife, but 
when or where he married her is unknown. Of his resi- 
dence and grounds he has given a description in the 
Anabasis. Here he built a temple to Diana from the 
proceeds of some spoil which he had deposited at 
Ephesus when he accompanied Agesilaus from Asia 
to Boeotia. It appears that he continued to reside 
here for more than twenty years, till B. C. 371, when, 
after the defeat of the Lacedemonians at the battle of 
Leuctra, the Eleians regained possession of Scillus, 
which had been wrested from them by that people some 
time before Xenophon settled there. He escaped with 
his sons, first to Lepreum, and afterwards to Corinth, 
where he fixed his abode for the remainder of his 
life. 

When the Athenians had resolved to assist the Spar- 


ΧΗ INTRODUCTION 


tans (B. C. 369) whose territories had been invaded 
by the Thebans, Xenophon, says Lertius, sent his two 
sons to fight on the Spartan side. Gryllus was killed 
seven years after, at the battle of Mantinea, after 
having, as Pausanias relates, killed Epaminondas with 
his own hand. Xenophon received the news of his 
death as he was going to offer sacrifice, and imme- 
diately took the chaplet from his head; but on hearing 
that Gryllus had died fighting bravely, replaced it. 
Some relate that he did not shed a tear, but merely 
observed that he knew he had begotten him mortal. 
The repeal of the edict of banishment against Xeno- 
phon, it is said, came on the motion of the same Eu- 
bulus by whom it had been proposed; but in what year 
is uncertain, probably about B. C. 369. It does not 
appear that he ever returned to Athens. Diogenes 
Lertius says that he died at Corinth. The only allusion 
among the writers of antiquity to the time of his death 
is that in Diogenes Lertius, who cites Stesicleides as 
saying that he died in the first year of the one hundred 
and fifth Olympiad, or B. C. 360; but as it is certain 
that he was alive three years later, B. C. 357, it is 
conjectured that he may have died about B. C. 355. 
In the pages of Xenophon we are brought into con- 
tact with one whose power of self-revelation is re- 
markable; a writer whose business it was to delineate 
and criticise contemporary events and people from a 
somewhat personal point of view; an artist whose ideal 
creations appear as living portraits of the men and 
women of his time. Partly through the lucidity of his 
language, but partly also with the natural egoism of 
a plain person who has seen and felt, he makes friends 


INTRODUCTION ΧΙ 


of his hearers and wins their confidence apparently 
without effort. 

In describing the wars through the medium of the 
written word, Xenophon has been without a peer in 
all the intervening centuries. He took an active part, 
he saw,—and in well-chosen phrases he told the whole 
story so that you and I might have a complete under- 
standing and in our minds gain a picture composite 
and perfect. ; 

If, for the purposes of biography, the true source 
of information must ever be the writer himself, the wit- 
ness of antiquity has a separate value of its own. Not 
only does the popular tradition, embodied largely, if 
loosely, in the one ancient biography of our author 
now extant, help to establish certain particulars for 
which we are grateful; but in general the high appre- 
ciation of Xenophon on the part of ancient writers,— 
their recognition of his merits no less in the field of let- 
ters than of action,—is a proof to some extent that he 
was truly what to contemporary and succeeding ages 
he appeared to be: a sage and heroic person; a sensible 
and just historian; an original and inventive writer, 
possessing rare gifts of style; a “ beautiful and good” 
man,—patient, affectionate, and God-serving. 

Such a consensus of favourable opinion may well 
challenge the attention, though it need not overbalance 
the judgment, of the modern inquirer. It is established 
by remarks, critical or simply laudatory, scattered over 
the pages of many writers, Greek and Latin, through 
Alexandrian, Roman, and early Christian times. These 
commence with Aristotle and end (if they can be said 
to end) with that last pagan of royal speech, Themis- 


XIV INTRODUCTION 


tius, whose philosophy was “ the glory of the reign ” 
of Constantius. 

Xenophon’s popularity with his contemporaries is 
not difficult to understand. He appealed to their ad- 
miration at once as a man of action and a man of 
letters. 'The encomium of Bacon is only an English 
version of what was tacitly understood by his fellows 
and expressed in so many words by Polybius, Plu- 
tarch and others: “ This young scholar, or philosopher, 
after all the captains were murdered in parley by 
treason, conducted these ten thousand foot through the 
heart of all the king’s high countries, from Babylon 
to Grecia, in safety, in despite of all the king’s forces, 
to the astonishment of the world and the encourage- 
ment of the Grecians in time succeeding to make in- 
vasion upon the kings of Persia, as was afterwards 
purposed by Jason the Thessalian, attempted by 
Agesilaus the Spartan, and achieved by Alexander the 
Macedonian, all upon the ground of the act of that 
young scholar.” 

But if Xenophon was interesting to his fellows as 
a man most capable of action and speech himself, and 
the father also of two valorous sons, still more did he 
engage the attention of the next and subsequent gen- 
erations as a rhetorician and a man of letters. Here 
again he made a twofold appeal to the judgment of his 
readers, partly addressing himself to heart and mind 
ethically, and partly to sense of style artistically. If 
the subject matter of his writings had some attraction 
for philosophers and historians, his art of expression 
did not fail to win the notice of the stylist and the 
grammarian. 


INTRODUCTION XV 


Our friend Xenophon was a lover of wisdom rather 
than a professed philosopher, but he held many sound 
notions of philosophy in solution,—and it needed only 
the scientific touch of Aristotle to precipitate them. 
Thus his views as to the principle of government,—of 
education,—of slavery,—of economy, with its division 
of labour and distribution of functions,—of the rela- 
tions of agriculture, trade, and industry—or concern- 
ing the military class and agriculture—his idyllic 
sketch of the household,—his conception of marriage, 
and the use of property :—these and many such “ hints 
and indirections ” form a genuine contribution towards 
the solution of questions vitally important then as now. 

The tradition concerning Xenophon during a space 
of ten centuries, between the death of Theodosius and 
the advent in Italy of Manuel Chrysoloras, at whose 
magic touch “ the knowledge of Greek, intermitted in 
Western Europe for seven centuries, revived,” we must 
now consider. In the first instance it may be stated 
that, whatever the history of “the intermission” of 
Greek learning and the loss of classical culture in gen- 
eral may have been, the fate of Xenophon was not 
peculiar. It was the fate also of his greater or lesser 
compeers. Indeed, in one respect, he was exceptionally 
fortunate,—inasmuch as, when his writings came in 
their turn to be rediscovered, during the humanistic 
movements of the fifteenth century, it was found that 
the mass of them had been preserved. 

Just when the MSS. of Xenophon were disentombed, 
and what the particular scene of their imprisonment, it 
is impossible to state. Some, doubtless, were brought 
in one of those famous boat loads which formed the 


XV1 INTRODUCTION 


precious freight of scholars like Giovanni Aurispa, of 
whom it is said that on his return fro: Byzantium in 
1423 he carried with him two hundred and thirty-eight 
codices, while Guarino of Verona and Francesco Filelfo 
both arrived in Italy heavily laden. The earliest that 
we possess are not older than the twelfth century (that 
famous epoch). These are Vaticanus (1335), of un- 
certain date, and Marcianus (511), 1166 A. Ὁ. The 
earliest printed Xenophon is the Latin edition of 
Filelfo, Mediol: 1467 A. D.; the first Greek edition, 
the Hellenica, published by Aldo in 1503, which was 
followed by the Juntine, 1516 A. D. 

In the mind and style of Xenophon, in his theories 
of economy and education, there was something well 
calculated to enlist the sympathies of Italians of the 
Renaissance, as well as of the people of to-day. Now 
it is the courtesy and gentleness of the well-educated 
Athenian ; now it is the Spartan heroism and philosophic 
patience of the exile; now it is the virtues of the good 
head of the family. 

‘For Xenophon, who did imitate so excellently as 
to give us effigiem justi imperii, the portraiture of a 
just empire under the name of Cyrus (as Cicero saith 
of him), made therein an absolute heroicall poem,” 
according to Sir Philip Sidney; and now and always 
it is the grace and beauty of his style, as says Alberti, 
“Quel Greco dolcissimo soavissimo scrittore Seno- 
phonte.” 

Tuomas MatHew ALEXANDER. 


THE 
HISTORY OF XENOPHON 


HELLENICA BOOK I, BOOK II— 
ANABASIS BOOK I, BOOK II, 
BOOK III, BOOK IV 


Ay 
᾿ ὦ 
τὰ 


THE 
HISTORY OF XENOPHON 


HELLENICA 


BOOK I 


O follow the order of events [Β. c. 411]. 

A. few days later Thymochares arrived 

from Athens with a few ships, when an- 

other sea fight between the Lacedemonians and 

Athenians at once took place, in which the 

former, under the command of Agesandridas, 
gained the victory. 

Another short interval brings us to a morning 
in early winter, when Dorieus, the son of Dia- 
goras, was entering the Hellespont with four- 
teen ships from Rhodes at break of day. The 
Athenian day-watch descrying him, signalled to 
the generals, and they, with twenty sail, put out 
to sea to attack him. Dorieus made good his 

1 Xenophon begins here the “Sequel to Thucydides” spoken 
of by ancient writers. Having edited that historian’s work, he 
now continues the story of the Peloponnesian war to its end and 
the destruction of the long walls of Athens. A recent com- 
mentator remarks this is “conceivably not the original begin- 
ning; though the opening is quite in Xenophon’s manner, and the 
plunge into the middle of things has a certain artistic effect.” 
The scene of the sea fight immediately mentioned is the Helles- 


pont. Thucydides, in his last book, describes the one just be- 
fore it, when the Athenians were victors off Cynossema. 


20 XENOPHON 


escape, and, as he shook himself free of the nar- 
rows, ran his triremes aground off Rhoeteum. 
When the Athenians had come to close quarters, 
the fighting commenced, and was sustained αὐ 
once from ships and shore, until at length the 
Athenians retired to their main camp at Mady- 
tus, having achieved nothing. 

Meanwhile Mindarus, while sacrificing to 
Athena at Ilium, had observed the battle. He 
at once hastened to the sea, and getting his own 
triremes afloat, sailed out to pick up the ships 
with Dorieus. The Athenians on their side put 
out to meet him, and engaged him off Abydos. 
From early morning till the afternoon the fight 
was kept up close to the shore. Victory and 
defeat hung still in even balance, when Alcibi- 
ades came sailing up with eighteen ships. There- 
upon the Peloponnesians fled towards Abydos, 
where, however, Pharnabazus brought them 
timely assistance. Mounted on horseback, he 
pushed forward into the sea as far as his horse 
would let him, doing battle himself, and encour- — 
aging his troopers and the infantry alike to play 
their parts. Then the Peloponnesians, ranging 
their ships in close-packed order, and drawing 
up their battle line in proximity to the land, 
kept up the fight. At length the Athenians, 
having captured thirty of the enemy’s vessels 
without their crews, and having recovered those 
of their own which they had previously lost, set 


HELLENICA BOOK I 21 


sail for Sestos. Here the fleet, with the excep- 
tion of forty vessels, dispersed in different di- 
rections outside the WHellespont, to collect 
money; while Thrasylus, one of the generals, 
sailed to Athens to report what had happened, 
and to beg for a reinforcement of troops and 
ships. After the above incidents, Tissaphernes 
arrived in the Hellespont, and received a visit 
from Alcibiades, who presented himself with a 
single ship, bringing with him tokens of friend- 
ship and gifts, whereupon Tissaphernes seized 
him and shut him up in Sardis, giving out that 
the king’s orders were to go to war with the 
Athenians. Thirty days later Alcibiades, ac- 
companied by Mantitheus, who had been cap- 
tured in Caria, managed to procure horses and 
escaped by night to Clazomene. 

B. Ὁ. 410.—And now the Athenians at Sestos, 
hearing that Mindarus was meditating an attack 
upon them with a squadron of sixty sail, gave 
him the slip, and under cover of night escaped 
to Cardia. Hither also Alcibiades repaired 
from Clazomene, having with him five triremes 
and a light skiff; but on learning that the Pelo- 
ponnesian fleet had left Abydos and was in full 
sail for Cyzicus, he set off himself by land to 
Sestos, giving orders to the fleet to sail round 
and join him there. Presently the vessels ar- 
rived, and he was on the point of putting out to 
sea with everything ready for action, when 


| 


22 XENOPHON 


Theramenes, with a fleet of twenty ships from 
Macedonia, entered the port, and at the same 
instant Thrasybulus, with a second fleet of 
twenty sail from Thasos, both squadrons hav- 
ing been engaged in collecting money. Bidding 
these officers also follow him with all speed, as 
soon as they had taken out their large sails and 
cleared for action, Alcibiades set sail himself 
for Parium. During the following night the 
united squadron, consisting now of eighty-six 
vessels, stood out to sea from Parium, and 
reached Proconnesus next morning, about the 
hour of breakfast. Here they learnt that Min- 
darus was in Cyzicus, and that Pharnabazus, 
with a body of infantry, was with him. Accord- 
ingly they waited the whole of this day at Pro- 
connesus. On the following day Alcibiades 
summoned an assembly, and addressing the men 
in terms of encouragement, warned them that 
a threefold service was expected of them; that 
they must be ready for a sea fight, a land fight, 
and a wall fight all at once, “for look you,” said 
he, “we have no money, but the enemy has un- 
limited supplies from the king.” 

Now, on the previous day, as soon as they 
were come to moorings, he had collected all the 
sea-going craft of the island, big and little alike, 
under his own control, that no one might report 
the number of his squadron to the enemy, and 
he had further caused a proclamation to be 


HELLENICA BOOK I 23 


made, that any one caught sailing across to the 
opposite coast would be punished with death. 
When the meeting was over he got his ships 
ready for action, and stood out to sea towards 
Cyzicus in torrents of rain. Off Cyzicus the © 
sky cleared, and the sun shone out and revealed 
to him the spectacle of Mindarus’s vessels, sixty 
in number, exercising at some distance from the 
harbour, and, in fact, intercepted by himself. 
The Peloponnesians, perceiving at a glance the 
greatly increased number of the Athenian gal- 
leys, and noting their proximity to the port, 
made haste to reach the land, where they 
brought their vessels to anchor in a body, and 
prepared to engage the enemy as he sailed to the 
attack. But Alcibiades, sailing round with 
twenty of his vessels, came to land and disem- 
barked. Seeing this, Mindarus also landed, and 
in the engagement which ensued he fell fighting, 
whilst those who were with him took to flight. 
As for the enemy’s ships, the Athenians suc- 
ceeded in capturing the whole of them (with the 
exception of the Syracusan vessels, which were 
burnt by their crews), and made off with their 
prizes to Proconnesus. From thence on the fol- 
lowing day they sailed to attack Cyzicus. The 
men of that place, seeing that the Peloponne- 
sians and Pharnabazus had evacuated the town, 
admitted the Athenians. Here Alcibiades re- 
mained twenty days, obtaining large sums of 


24. XENOPHON 


money from the Cyzicenes, but otherwise inflict- 
ing no sort of mischief on the community. He 
then sailed back to Proconnesus, and from 
there to Perinthus and Selybria. The inhabi- 
tants of the former place welcomed his troops 
into their city, but the Selybrians preferred to 
give money, and so escape the admission of the 
troops. Continuing the voyage, the squadron 
reached Chrysopolis in Chalcedonia, where they 
built a fort, and established a custom-house to 
collect the tithe dues which they levied on all 
merchantmen passing through the Straits from 
the Black Sea. Besides this, a detachment of 
thirty ships was left there under the two gen- 
erals, Theramenes and Eubulus, with instruc- 
tions not only to keep a look-out on the port it- 
self and all traders passing through the channel, 
but generally to injure the enemy in any way 
which might present itself. This done, the rest 
of the generals hastened back to the Hellespont. 

Now a despatch from Hippocrates, Min- 
darus’s vice-admiral, had been intercepted on 
its way to Lacedemon, and taken to Athens. It 
ran as follows (in broad Doric): “Ships gone; 
Mindarus dead; the men starving; at our wits’ 
end what to do.” 

Pharnabazus, however, was ready to meet 
with encouragement the despondency which af- 
flicted the whole Peloponnesian army and their 
allies. “As long as their own bodies were safe 


HELLENICA BOOK I 25 


and sound, why need they take to heart the loss 
of a few wooden hulls?) Was there not timber 
enough and to spare in the king’s territory?” 
And so he presented each man with a cloak and 
maintenance for a couple of months, after which 
he armed the sailors and formed them into a 
coastguard for the security of his own seaboard. 

He next called a meeting of the generals and 
trierarchs of the different States, and instructed 
them to build just as many new ships in the 
dockyards of Antandrus as they had respect- 
ively lost. He himself was to furnish the funds, 
and he gave them to understand that they might 
bring down timber from Mount Ida. While 
the ships were building, the Syracusans helped 
the men of Antandrus to finish a section of their 
walls, and were particularly pleasant on garrison 
duty; and that is why the Syracusans to this 
day enjoy the privilege of citizenship, with the 
title of “benefactors,” at Antandrus. Having 
so arranged these matters, Pharnabazus pro- 
ceeded at once to the rescue of Chalcedon. 

It was at this date that the Syracusan gener- 
als received news from home of their banishment 
by the democratic party. Accordingly they 
called a meeting of their separate divisions, and 
putting forward Hermocrates? as their spokes- 


2 Hermocrates, the son of Hermon. We first hear of him in 
Thucydides, as the chief agent in bringing the Sicilian States 
together in conference at Gela B. c. 424, with a view to healing 
their differences and combining to frustrate the dangerous de- 


20 XENOPHON 


man, proceeded to deplore their misfortune, in- 
sisting upon the injustice and the illegality of 
their banishment. “ And now let us admonish 
you,” they added, “to be eager and willing in 
the future, even as in the past: whatever the 
word of command may be, show yourselves good 
men and true: let not the memory of those glori- 
ous sea fights fade. Think of those victories 
you have won, those ships you have captured by 
your own unaided efforts; forget not that long 
list of achievements shared by yourselves with 
others, in all which you proved yourselves in- 
vincible under our generalship. It was to a happy 
combination of our merit and your enthusiasm, 
displayed alike on land and sea, that you owe 
the strength and perfection of your discipline.” 

With these words they called upon the men 
to choose other commanders, who should under- 
take the duties of their office, until the arrival of 
their successors. Thereupon the whole assem- 
bly, and more particularly the captains and mas- 
ters of vessels and marines, insisted with loud 
cries on their continuance in command. ‘The 
generals replied, “It was not for them to in- 
dulge in faction against the State, but rather it 
was their duty, in case any charges were forth- 
signs of Athens. At a later date, in 411 8. c., when the Pelo- 
ponnesian sailors were ready to mutiny, and “laid all their griev- 
ances to the charge of Astyochus (the Spartan admiral), who 


humoured Tissaphernes for his own gain,” Hermocrates took the 
men’s part, and so incurred the hatred of Tissaphernes. , 


HELLENICA BOOK I 27 


coming against themselves, at once to render an 
account.” When, however, no one had any 
kind of accusation to prefer, they yielded to the 
general demand, and were content to await the 
arrival of their successors. The names of’ these 
were—Demarchus, the son of Epidocus; Mys- 
con, the son of Menecrates; and Potamis, the 
son of Gnosis. 

The captains, for the most part, swore to re- 
store the exiled generals as soon as they them- 
selves should return to Syracuse. At present 
with a general vote of thanks they despatched 
them to their several destinations. In particu- 
lar those who had enjoyed the society of Hermo- 
crates recalled his virtues with regret, his thor- 
oughness and enthusiasm, his frankness and af- 
fability, the care with which every morning and 
evening he was wont to gather in his quarters a 
group of naval captains and marines and master 
mariners whose ability he recognised. These 
were his confidants, to whom he communicated 
what he intended to say or do: they were his 
pupils, to whom he gave lessons in oratory, now 
calling upon them to speak extempore, and now 
again after deliberation. By these means Her- 
mocrates had gained a wide reputation at the 
council board, where his mastery of language 
was no less felt than the wisdom of his advice. 
Appearing at Lacedemon as the accuser of 
Tissaphernes, he had carried his case, not only 


28 XENOPHON 


by the testimony of Astyochus, but by the ob- 
vious sincerity of his statements, and on the 
strength of this reputation he now betook him- 
self to Pharnabazus. The latter did not wait 
to be asked, but at once gave him money, which 
enabled him to collect friends and triremes, 
with a view to his ultimate recall to Syracuse. 
Meanwhile the successors of the Syracusans had 
arrived at Miletus, where they took charge of 
the ships and the army. 

It was at this same season that a revolution 
occurred in Thasos, involving the expulsion of 
the philo-Laconian party, with the Laconian 
governor Eteonicus. The Laconian Pasippidas 
was charged with having brought the business 
about in conjunction with Tissaphernes, and was 
banished from Sparta in consequence. ‘The 
naval force which he had been collecting from 
the allies was handed over to Cratesippidas, who 
was sent out to take his place in Chios. 

About the same period, while Thrasylus was 
still in Athens, Agis made a foraging expedi- 
tion up to the very walls of the city. But Thrasy- 
lus led out the Athenians with the rest of the 
inhabitants of the city, and drew them up by 
the side of the Lyceum Gymnasium, ready to 
engage the enemy if they approached; seeing 
which, Agis beat a hasty retreat, not however 
without the loss of some of his supports, a few 
of whom were cut down by the Athenian light 


HELLENICA BOOK I 29 


troops. This success disposed the citizens to 
take a still more favourable view of the objects 
for which Thrasylus had come; and they passed 
a decree empowering him to call out a thousand 
hoplites, one hundred cavalry and fifty triremes. 

Meanwhile Agis, as he looked out from De- 
celeia, and saw vessel after vessel laden with 
corn running down to Pireus, declared that it 
was useless for his troops to go on week after 
week excluding the Athenians from their own 
land, while no one stopped the source of their 
corn supply by sea: the best plan would be to 
send Clearchus, the son of Rhamphius, who was 
proxenos of the Byzantines, to Chalcedon and 
Byzantium. The suggestion was approved, and 
with fifteen vessels duly manned from Megara, 
or furnished by other allies, Clearchus set out. 
These were troop-ships rather than swift-sailing 
men-of-war. ‘Three of them, on reaching the 
Hellespont, were destroyed by the nine Athe- 
nian ships employed to keep a sharp look-out 
on all merchant craft in those waters. The 
other twelve escaped to Sestos, and thence finally 
reached Byzantium in safety. 

So closed the year—a year notable also for 
the expedition against Sicily of the Carthagin- 
ians under Hannibal with one hundred thou- 
sand men, and the capture, within three months, 
of the two Hellenic cities of Selinus and 
Himera. 


80 XENOPHON 


II. B. C. 409.—Next year . . . the Athe- 
nians fortified Thoricus; and Thrasylus, taking 
the vessels lately voted him and five thousand 
of his seamen armed to serve as peltasts,*® set 
sail for Samos at the beginning of the summer. 
At Samos he stayed three days, and then con- 
tinued his voyage to Pygela, where he proceeded 
to ravage the territory and attack the fortress. 
Presently a detachment from Miletus came to 
the rescue of the men of Pygela, and attacking 
the scattered bands of the Athenian light troops, 
put them to flight. But to the aid of the light 
troops came the naval brigade of peltasts, with 
two companies of heavy infantry, and all but 
annihilated the whole detachment from Miletus. 
They captured about two hundred shields, and 
set up a trophy. Next day they sailed to No- 
tium, and from Notium, after due preparation, 
marched upon Colophon. ‘The Colophonians 
capitulated without a blow. The following 
night they made an incursion into Lydia, where 
the corn crops were ripe, and burnt several vil- 
lages, and captured money, slaves, and other 
booty in large quantity. But Stages, the Per- 
sian, who was employed in this neighbourhood, 


3 The Proxenos answered pretty nearly to our Consul, Agent, 
Resident; but he differed in this respect, that he was always a 
member of the foreign State. An Athenian represented Sparta 
at Athens; a Laconian represented Athens at Sparta, and so 
forth. Peltasts, i. e., light infantry armed with the pelta or light 
shield, instead of the heavy shield of the hoplites or heavy in- 
fantry soldiers. 


HELLENICA BOOK I 31 


fell in with a reinforcement of cavalry sent to 
protect the scattered pillaging parties from the 
Athenian camp, whilst occupied with their indi- 
vidual plunder, and took one trooper prisoner, 
killing seven others. After this Thrasylus led 
his troops back to the sea, intending to sail to 
Ephesus. Meanwhile Tissaphernes, who had 
wind of this intention, began collecting a large 
army and despatching cavalry with a summons 
to the inhabitants one and all to rally to the de- 
fence of the goddess Artemis at E;phesus. 

On the seventeenth day after the incursion 
above mentioned Thrasylus sailed to Ephesus. 
He disembarked his troops in two divisions, his 
heavy infantry in the neighbourhood of Mount 
Coressus; his cavalry, peltasts, and marines, with 
the remainder of his force, near the marsh on 
the other side of the city. At daybreak he 
pushed forward both divisions. The citizens of 
Ephesus, on their side, were not slow to pro- 
tect themselves. They had to aid them the troops 
brought up by Tissaphernes, as well as two de- 
tachments of Syracusans, consisting of the crews 
of their former twenty vessels and those of five 
new vessels which had opportunely arrived quite 
recently under Eucles, the son of Hippon, and 
Heracleides, the son of Aristogenes, together 
with two Selinuntian vessels. All these several 
forces first attacked the heavy infantry near 
Coressus; these they routed, killing about one 


82 XENOPHON 


hundred of them, and driving the remainder 
down into the sea. They then turned to deal 
with the second division on the marsh. Here, 
too, the Athenians were put to flight, and as 
many as three hundred of them perished. On 
this spot the Ephesians erected a trophy, and 
another at Coressus. The valour of the Syra- 
cusans and Selinuntians had been so conspicuous 
that the citizens presented many of them, both 
publicly and privately, with prizes for distinc- 
tion in the field, besides offering the right of 
residence in their city with certain immunities 
to all who at any time might wish to live there. 
To the Selinuntians, indeed, as their own city 
had lately been destroyed, they offered full citi- 
zenship. 

The Athenians, after picking up their dead 
under a truce, set sail for Notium, and having 
there buried the slain, continued their voyage 
towards Lesbos and the Hellespont. Whilst 
lying at anchor in the harbour of Methymna, in 
that island, they caught sight of the Syracusan 
vessels, five-and-twenty in number, coasting 
along from Ephesus. They put out to sea to 
attack them, and captured four ships with their 
crews, and chased the remainder back to Ephe- 
sus. The prisoners were sent by Thrasylus to 
Athens, with one exception. This was an Athe- 
nian, Alcibiades, who was a cousin and fellow- 
exile of Alcibiades. Him Thrasylus released. 


HELLENICA BOOK I 33 


From Methymna Thrasylus set sail to Sestos to 
join the main body of the army, after which the 
united forces crossed to Lampsacus. And now 
winter was approaching. It was the winter in 
which the Syracusan prisoners who had been 
immured in the stone quarries of Pireus dug 
through the rock and escaped one night, some 
to Deceleia and others to Megara. At Lamps- 
acus Alcibiades was anxious to marshal the whole 
military force there collected in one body, but 
the old troops refused to be incorporated with 
those of Thrasylus. “ They, who had never yet 
been beaten, with these newcomers who had just 
suffered a defeat.” So they devoted the win- 
ter to fortifying Lampsacus. They also made 
an expedition against Abydos, where Pharna- 
bazus, coming to the rescue of the place, encoun- 
tered them with numerous cavalry, but was de- 
feated and forced to flee, Alcibiades pursuing 
hard with his cavalry and one hundred and 
twenty infantry under the command of Men- 
ander, till darkness intervened. After this bat- 
tle the soldiers came together of their own ac- 
cord, and freely fraternised with the troops of 
Thrasylus. This expedition was followed by 
other incursions during the winter into the in- 
terior, where they found plenty to do in ray- 
aging the king’s territory. 

It was at this period also that the Lacede- 
monians allowed their revolted helots from 


84 XENOPHON 


Malea, who had found an asylum at Corypha- 
sium, to depart under a flag of truce. It was 
also about the same period that the Achzans 
betrayed the colonists of Heracleia Trachinia, 
when they were all drawn up in battle to meet 
the hostile Oetawans, whereby as many as seven 
hundred of them were lost, together with the 
governor, from Lacedemon, Labotas. Thus 
the year came to its close—a year marked fur- 
ther by a revolt of the Medes from Darius, the 
king of Persia, followed by renewed submission 
to his authority. 

III. B. C. 408.—The year following is the year 
in which the temple of Athena, in Phocea, was 
struck by lightning and set on fire. With the 
cessation of winter, in early spring, the Athe- 
nians set sail with the whole of their force to 
Proconnesus, and thence advanced upon Chalce- 
don and Byzantium, encamping near the former 
town. ‘The men of Chalcedon, aware of their 
approach, had taken the precaution to deposit 
all their pillageable property with their neigh- 
bours, the Bithynian Thracians; whereupon AI- 
cibiades put himself at the head of a small body 
of heavy infantry with the cavalry, and giving 
orders to the fleet to follow along the coast, 
marched against the Bithynians and demanded 
back the property of the Chalcedonians, threat- 
ening them with war in case of refusal. The 
Bithynians delivered up the property. Return- 


HELLENICA BOOK I 35 


ing to camp, not only thus enriched, but with 
the further satisfaction of having secured 
pledges of good behaviour from the Bithynians, 
Alcibiades set to work with the whole of his 
troops to draw lines of circumvallation round 
Chalcedon from sea to sea, so as to include as 
much of the river as possible within his wall, 
which was made of timber. Thereupon the Lace- 
demonian governor, Hippocrates, led his troops 
out of the city and offered battle, and the Athe- 
nians, on their side, drew up their forces op- 
posite to receive him; while Pharnabazus, from 
without the lines of circumvallation, was still ad- 
vancing with his army and large bodies of horse. 
Hippocrates and Thrasylus engaged each other 
with their heavy infantry for a long while, until 
Alcibiades, with a detachment of infantry and 
the cavalry, intervened. Presently Hippocrates 
fell, and the troops under him fled into the city; 
at the same instant Pharnabazus, unable to ef- 
fect a junction with the Lacedemonian leader, 
owing to the circumscribed nature of the ground 
and the close proximity of the river to the 
enemy’s lines, retired to the Heracleium, be- 
longing to the Chalcedonians, where his camp 
lay. After this success Alcibiades set off to the 
Hellespont and the Chersonese to raise money, 
and the remaining generals came to terms with 
Pharnabazus in respect of Chalcedon; according 
to these, the Persian satrap agreed to pay the 


86 XENOPHON 


Athenians twenty talents * in behalf of the town, 
and to grant their ambassadors a safe conduct 
up country to the king. It was further stipu- 
lated by mutual consent and under oaths pro- 
vided, that the Chalcedonians should continue 
the payment of their customary tribute to 
Athens, being also bound to discharge all out- 
standing debts. The Athenians, on their side, 
were bound to desist from hostilities until the 
return of their ambassadors from the king. 
These oaths were not witnessed by Alcibiades, 
who was now in the neighbourhood of Selybria. 
Having taken that place, he presently appeared 
before the walls of Byzantium at the head of 
the men of Chersonese, who came out with their 
whole force; he was aided further by troops 
from Thrace and more than three hundred horse. 
Accordingly Pharnabazus, insisting that he too 
must take the oath, decided to remain in Chal- 
cedon, and to await his arrival from Byzantium. 
Alcibiades came, but was not prepared to bind 
himself by any oaths, unless Pharnabazus would, 
on his side, take oaths to himself. After this, 
oaths were exchanged between them by proxy. 
Alcibiades took them at Chrysopolis in the pres- 
ence of two representatives sent by Pharnabazus 
—namely, Mitrobates and Arnapes. Pharna- 
bazus took them at Chalcedon in the presence of 
Euryptolemus and Diotimus, who represented 
Alcibiades. Both parties bound themselves not 
4 About $24,000. 


HELLENICA BOOK I 37 


only by the general oath, but also interchanged 
personal pledges of good faith. 

This done, Pharnabazus left Chalcedon at 
once, with injunctions that those who were go- 
ing up to the king as ambassadors should meet 
him at Cyzicus. The representatives of Athens 
were Dorotheus, Philodices, Theogenes, Euryp- 
tolemus, and Mantitheus; with them were two 
Argives, Cleostratus and Pyrrholochus. An 
embassy from the Lacedemonians was also 
about to make the journey. This consisted of 
Pasippidas and his fellows, with whom were 
Hermocrates, now an exile from Syracuse, and 
his brother Proxenus. So Pharnabazus put him- 
self at their head. Meanwhile the Athenians 
prosecuted the siege of Byzantium; lines of cir- 
cumvallation were drawn; and they diversified 
the blockade by sharpshooting at long range and 
occasional assaults upon the walls. Inside the 
city lay Clearchus, the Lacedemonian governor, 
and a body of Periceci with a small detachment 
of Neodamodes.? There was also a body of 


5 According to the constitution of Lacedemon the whole gov- 
ernment was in Dorian hands. The subject population was di- 
vided into (1) Helots, who were State serfs. The children of 
Helots were at times brought up as Spartans and called Mo- 
thakes; Helots who had received their liberty were called Neo- 
damodes. After the conquest of Messenia this class was very 
numerous. (2) Pericci. These were the ancient Achean in- 
habitants, living in towns and villages, and managing their own 
affairs, paying tribute, and serving in the army as heavy-armed 
soldiers. 


38 XENOPHON 


Megarians under their general Helixus, a Me- 
garian, and another body of Beeotians, with 
their general Coeratadas. The Athenians, find- 
ing presently that they could effect nothing by 
force, worked upon some of the inhabitants to 
betray the place. Clearchus, meanwhile, never 
dreaming that any one would be capable of such 
an act, had crossed over to the opposite coast to 
visit Pharnabazus; he had left everything in per- 
fect order, entrusting the government of the 
city to Coeratadas and Helixus. His mission 
was to obtain pay for the soldiers from the Per- 
sian satrap, and to collect vessels from various 
quarters. Some were already in the Hellespont, 
where they had been left as guardships by Pasip- 
pidas, or else at Antandrus. Others formed the 
fleet which Hegesandridas, who had formerly 
served as a marine under Mindarus, now com- 
manded on the Thracian coast. Others Clear- 
chus purposed to have built, and with the whole 
united squadron so to injure the allies of the 
Athenians as to draw off the besieging army 
from Byzantium. But no sooner was he fairly 
gone than those who were minded to betray the 
city set to work. Their names were Cydon, 
Ariston, Anaxicrates, Lycurgus, and Anaxilaus. 
The last-named was afterward impeached for 
treachery in Lacedemon on the capital charge, 
and acquitted on the plea that, to begin with, 
he was not a Lacedemonian, but a Byzantine, 


HELLENICA BOOK I 39 


and, so far from having betrayed the city, he 
had saved it, when he saw women and children 
perishing of starvation; for Clearchus had given 
away all the corn in the city to the Lacedemon- 
jan soldiers. It was for these reasons, as Anaxi- 
laus himself admitted, he had introduced the 
enemy, and not for the sake of money, nor out 
of hatred to Lacedemon. 

As soon then as everything was ready, these 
people opened the gates leading to the Thracian 
Square, as it is called, and admitted the Athe- 
nian troops with Alcibiades at their head. He- 
lixus and Coeratadas, in complete ignorance of 
the plot, hastened to the Agora with the whole 
of the garrison, ready to confront the danger; 
but finding the enemy in occupation, they had 
nothing for it but to give themselves up. They 
were sent off as prisoners to Athens, where 
Cceratadas, in the midst of the crowd and con- 
fusion of disembarkation at Pireus, gave his 
guards the slip, and made his way in safety to 
Deceleia. 

IV. B. C. 407.—Pharnabazus and the ambas- 
sadors were passing the winter at Gordium in 
Phrygia, when they heard of the occurrences at 
Byzantium. Continuing their journey to the 
king’s court in the commencement of spring, 
they were met by a former embassy, which was 
now on its return journey. These were the Lace- 
demonian ambassadors, Boeotius and his party, 


40 XENOPHON 


with the other envoys; who told them that the 
Lacedzemonians had obtained from the king all 
they wanted. One of the company was Cyrus, 
the new governor of all the seaboard districts, — 
who was prepared to co-operate with the Lace- 
demonians in war. He was the bearer, more- 
over, of a letter with the royal seal attached. It 
was addressed to all the populations of Lower 
Asia, and contained the following words: “I 
send down Cyrus as ‘ Karanos’”’—that is to 
say, supreme lord—“ over all those who muster 
at Castolus.” The ambassadors of the Athe- 
nians, even while listening to this announcement, 
and indeed after they had seen Cyrus, were still 
desirous, if possible, to continue their journey 
to the king, or, failing that, to return home. 
Cyrus, however, urged upon Pharnabazus either 
to deliver them up to himself, or to defer send- 
ing them home at present; his object being to 
prevent the Athenians learning what was going 
on. Pharnabazus, wishing to escape all blame, 
for the time being detained them, telling them, 
at one time, that he would presently escort them 
up country to the king, and at another time 
that he would send them safe home. But when 
three years had elapsed, he prayed Cyrus to let 
them go, declaring that he had taken an oath to 
bring them back to the sea, in default of escort- 
ing them up to the king. Then at last they re- 
ceived safe conduct to Ariobarzanes, with or- 


HELLENICA BOOK I 41 


ders for their further transportation. The lat- 
ter conducted them a stage farther, to Cius in 
Mysia; and from Cius they set sail to join their 
main armament. 

Alcibiades, whose chief desire was to return 
home to Athens with the troops, immediately 
set sail for Samos; and from that island, taking 
twenty of the ships, he sailed to the Ceramic 
Gulf of Caria, were he collected a hundred tal- 
ents, and so returned to Samos. 

Thrasybulus had gone Thrace-wards with 
thirty ships. In this quarter he reduced various 
places which had revolted to Lacedemon, in- 
cluding the island of Thasos, which was in a 
bad plight, the result of wars, revolutions, and 
famine. 

Thrasylus, with the rest of the army, sailed 
back straight to Athens. On his arrival he 
found that the Athenians had already chosen 
as their general Alcibiades, who was still in ex- 
ile, and Thrasybulus, who was also absent, and 
as a third, from among those at home, Conon. 

Meanwhile Alcibiades, with the moneys lately 
collected and his fleet of twenty ships, left 
Samos and visited Paros. From Paros he stood 
out to sea across to Gytheum, to keep an eye on 
the thirty ships of war which, as he was in- 
formed, the Lacedemonians were equipping in 
that arsenal. Gytheum would also be a favour- 
able point of observation from which to gauge 


42 XENOPHON 


the disposition of his fellow-countrymen and 
the prospects of his recall. When at length their 
good disposition seemed to him established, not 
only by his election as general, but by the mes- 
sages of invitation which he received in private 
from his friends, he sailed home, and entered 
Pireus on the very day of the festival of the. 
Plunteria,® when the statue of Athena is veiled 
and screened from public gaze. ‘This was a 
coincidence, as some thought, of evil omen, and 
unpropitious alike to himself and the State, for 
no Athenian would transact serious business on 
such a day. 

As he sailed into the harbour, two great 
crowds—one from the Pirzus, the other from 
the city—flocked to meet the vessels. Wonder- 
ment, mixed with a desire to see Alcibiades, was 
the prevailing sentiment of the multitude. Of 
him they spoke: some asserting that he was the 
best of citizens, and that in his sole instance ban- 
ishment had been ill-deserved. He had been the 
victim of plots, hatched in the brains of people 
less able than himself, however much they might 
excel in pestilent speech; men whose one princi- 
ple of statecraft was to look to their private 
gains; whereas this man’s policy had ever been 


6 Feast of washings, held on the 25th of the month Thar- 
gelion, when the image of the goddess Athena was stripped in 
order that her clothes might be washed by the Praxiergide; 
neither assembly nor court was held on that day, and the Temple 
was closed. 


HELLENICA BOOK I 48 


to uphold the common weal, as much by his 
private means as by all the power of the State. 
His own choice, eight years ago, when the charge 
of impiety in the matter of the mysteries was 
still fresh, would have been to submit to trial at 
once. It was his personal foes who had suc- 
ceeded in postponing that undeniably just pro- 
cedure; who waited till his back was turned, and 
then robbed him of his fatherland. Then it was 
that, being made the very slave of circumstance, 
he was driven to court the men he hated most; 
and at a time when his own life was in daily 
peril, he must see his dearest friends and fellow- 
citizens, nay, the very State itself, bent on a 
suicidal course, and yet, in the exclusion of exile, 
be unable to lend a helping hand. “It is not 
men of this stamp,” they averred, “who desire 
changes in affairs and revolution: had he not 
already guaranteed to him by the Democracy a 
position higher than that of his equals in age, 
and scarcely if at all inferior to his seniors? 
How different was the position of his enemies. 
It had been the fortune of these, though they 
were known to be the same men they had al- 
ways been, to use their lately acquired power 
for the destruction in the first instance of the 
better classes; and then, being alone left sur- 
viving, to be accepted by their fellow-citizens 
in the absence of better men.” 

Others, however, insisted that for all their 


44 XENOPHON 


past miseries and misfortunes Alcibiades alone 
was responsible: “If more trials were still in 
store for the State, here was the master mis- 
chief-maker ready at his post to precipitate 
them.” 

When the vessels came to their moorings, 
close to the land, Alcibiades, from fear of his 
enemies, was unwilling to disembark at once. 
Mounting on the quarterdeck, he scanned the 
multitude, anxious to make certain of the pres- 
ence of his friends. Presently his eyes lit upon 
Euryptolemus, the son of Peisianax, who was 
his cousin, and then on the rest of his relations 
and other friends. Upon this he landed, and 
so, in the midst of an escort ready to put down 
any attempt upon his person, made his way to 
the city. 

In the Senate and Public Assembly he made 
speeches, defending himself against the charge 
of impiety, and asserting that he had been the 
victim of injustice, with other like topics, which 
in the present temper of the assembly no one 
ventured to gainsay. 

He was then formally declared leader and 
chief of the State, with irresponsible powers as 
being the sole individual capable of recovering 
the ancient power and prestige of Athens. 
Armed with this authority, his first act was to 
institute anew the processional march to Eleu- 
sis; for of late years, owing to the war, the 


HELLENICA BOOK I 4 


Athenians had been forced to conduct the mys- 
teries by sea. Now, at the head of the troops, 
he caused them to be conducted once again by 
land. This done, his next step was to muster 
an armament of one thousand five hundred 
heavy infantry, one hundred and fifty cavalry, 
and one hundred ships; and lastly, within three 
months of his return, he set sail for Andros, 
which had revolted from Athens. 

The generals chosen to co-operate with him 
on land were Aristocrates and Adeimantus, the 
son of Leucophilides. He disembarked his 
troops on the island of Andros at Gaurium, and 
routed the Andrian citizens who sallied out from 
the town to resist the invader; forcing them to 
return and keep close within their walls, though 
the number who fell was not large. This de- 
feat was shared by some Lacedemonians who 
were in the place. Alcibiades erected a trophy, 
and after a few days set sail himself for Samos, 
which became his base of operations in the fu- 
ture conduct of the war. 

V.—At a date not much earlier than that of 
the incidents just described, the Lacedzmonians 
had sent out Lysander as their admiral, in the 
place of Cratesippidas, whose period of office 
had expired. The new admiral first visited 
Rhodes, where he got some ships, and sailed to 
Cos and Miletus, and from the latter place to 
Ephesus. At Ephesus he waited with seventy 


46 XENOPHON 


sail, expecting the advent of Cyrus in Sardis, 
when he at once went up to pay the prince a 
visit with the ambassadors from Lacedemon. 
And now an opportunity was given to denounce 
the proceedings of Tissaphernes, and at the 
same time to beg Cyrus himself to show as much 
zeal as possible in the prosecution of the war. 
Cyrus replied that not only had he received ex- 
press injunctions from his father to the same ef- 
fect, but that his own views coincided with their 
wishes, which he was determined to carry out 
to the letter. He had, he informed them, 
brought with him five hundred talents;‘ and if 
that sum failed, he had still the private revenue, 
which his father allowed him, to fall back upon, 
and when this resource was in its turn exhausted, 
he would coin the gold and silver throne on 
which he sat, into money for their benefit. 
His audience thanked him for what he said, 
and further begged him to fix the rate of pay- 
ment for the seamen at one Attic drachma per 
man,® explaining that should this rate of pay- 
ment be adopted, the sailors of the Athenians 
would desert, and in the end there would be a 
saving of expenditure. Cyrus complimented 


7 About $600,000. One Euboice or Attic talent = sixty mine 
= six thousand drachme = about $1200 of our money. 

8 About 20c.; a drachma (= six obols) would be very high 
pay for a sailor—indeed, just double the usual amount. Tissa- 
phernes had, in the winter of 412 8. c., distributed one month’s 
pay among the Peloponnesian ships at this high rate of a 
drachma a day, “as his envoy had promised at Lacedemon; ” 


HELLENICA BOOK I 47 


them on the soundness of their arguments, but 
said that it was not in his power to exceed the 
injunctions of the king. The terms of agree- 
ment were precise, thirty minz® a month per 
vessel to be given, whatever number of vessels 
the Lacedemonians might choose to maintain. 

To this rejoinder Lysander at the moment 
said nothing. But after dinner, when Cyrus 
drank to his health, asking him “ What he could 
do to gratify him most?” Lysander replied, 
“Add an obol to the sailors’ pay.” After this 
the pay was raised to four instead of three obols, 
as it hitherto had been. Nor did the liberality 
of Cyrus end here; he not only paid up all ar- 
rears, but further gave a months’ pay in ad- 
vance, so that, if the enthusiasm of the army 
had been great before, it was greater than ever 
now. The Athenians when they heard the news 
were proportionately depressed, and by help of 
Tissaphernes despatched ambassadors to Cyrus. 
That prince, however, refused to receive them, 
nor were the prayers of Tissaphernes of any 
avail, however much he insisted that Cyrus 
should adopt the policy which he himself, on the 
but this he proposed to reduce to half a drachma, “until he had 
asked the king’s leave, promising that if he obtained it, he would 
pay the entire drachma. On the remonstrance, however, of Her- 
mocrates, the Syracusan general, he promised to each man a pay- 
ment of somewhat more than three obols.” 

9 About $600; and thirty minze a month to each ship (the 


crew of each ship being taken at two hundred) = three obols a 
day to each man, 


48 XENOPHON 


advice of Alcibiades, had persistently acted on. 
This was simply not to suffer any single Hel- 
lenic state to grow strong at the expense of the 
rest, but to keep them all weak alike, distracted 
by internecine strife. 

Lysander, now that the organisation of his 
navy was arranged to his satisfaction, beached 
his squadron of ninety vessels at Ephesus, and 
sat with hands folded, whilst the vessels dried 
and underwent repairs. Alcibiades, being in- 
formed that Thrasybulus had come south of the 
Hellespont and was fortifying Phocza, sailed 
across to join him, leaving his own pilot Antio- 
chus in command of the fleet, with orders not 
to attack Lysander’s fleet. Antiochus, how- 
ever, was tempted to leave Notium and sail into 
the harbour of Ephesus with a couple of ships, 
his own and another, past the prows of Lysan- 
der’s squadron. The Spartan at first contented 
himself with launching a few of his ships, and 
started in pursuit of the intruder; but when the 
Athenians came out with other vessels to assist 
Antiochus, he formed his whole squadron into 
line of battle, and bore down upon them, where- 
upon the Athenians followed suit, and getting 
their remaining triremes under weigh at Notium, 
stood out to sea as fast as each vessel could clear 
the point. Thus it befell in the engagement 
which ensued, that while the enemy was in due 
order, the Athenians came up in scattered de- 


HELLENICA BOOK I 49 


tachments and without concert, and in the end 
were put to flight with the loss of fifteen ships 
of war. Of the crews, indeed, the majority es- 
caped, though a certain number fell into the 
hands of the enemy. Then Lysander collected 
his vessels, and having erected a trophy on Cape 
Notium, sailed across to Ephesus, whilst the 
Athenians retired to Samos, 

On his return to Samos a little later, Alci- 
biades put out to sea with the whole squadron in 
the direction of the harbour of Ephesus. Αἱ 
the mouth of the harbour he marshalled his fleet 
in battle order, and tried to tempt the enemy 
to an engagement; but as Lysander, conscious 
of his inferiority in numbers, refused to accept 
the challenge, he sailed back again to Samos. 
Shortly after this the Lacedemonians captured 
Delphinium and Ejon. 

But now the news of the late disaster at No- 
tium had reached the Athenians at home, and 
in their indignation they turned upon Alcibi- 
ades, to whose negligence and lack of self-com- 
mand they attributed the destruction of the 
ships. Accordingly they chose ten new gener- 
als—namely Conon, Diomedon, Leon, Pericles, 
Erasinides, Aristocrates, Archestratus, Protom- 
achus, Thrasylus, and Aristogenes. Alcibiades, 
who was moreover in bad odour in the camp, 
sailed away with a single trireme to his private 
fortress in the Chersonese. 
| 
| 


50 XENOPHON 


After this Conon, in obedience to ‘a decree of 
the Athenian people, set sail from Andros with 
the twenty vessels under his command in that 
island to Samos, and took command of the 
whole squadron. To fill the place thus vacated 
by Conon, Phanosthenes was sent to Andros 
with four ships. ‘That captain was fortunate 
enough to intercept and capture two Thurian 
ships of war, crews and all, and these captives 
were all imprisoned by the Athenians, with the 
exception of their leader Dorieus. He was the 
Rhodian, who some while back had been ban- 
ished from Athens and from his native city by 
the Athenians, when sentence of death was 
passed upon him and his family. This man, who 
had once enjoyed the right of citizenship among 
them, they now took pity on and released him 
without ransom. 

When Conon had reached Samos he found 
the armament in a state of great despondency. 
Accordingly his first measure was to man sey- 
enty ships with their full complement, instead 
of the former hundred and odd vessels. With 
this squadron he put to sea accompanied by the 
other generals, and confined himself to making 
descents first at one point and then at another 
of the enemy’s territory, and to collecting plun- 
der. 

And so the year drew to its close: a year sig- 
nalised further by an invasion of Sicily by the 


HELLENICA BOOK I 51 


Carthaginians, with one hundred and_ twenty 
ships of war and a land force of one hundred 
and twenty thousand men, which resulted in the 
capture of Agrigentum. The town was finally 
reduced by famine after a siege of seven months, 
the invaders having previously been worsted in 
battle and forced to sit down before its walls 
for so long a time. 

VI. B. C. 406.—In the following year—the 
year of the evening eclipse of the moon, and the 
burning of the old temple of Athena at Athens 
—the Lacedemonians sent out Callicratidas to 
replace Lysander, whose period of office had 
now expired. Jiysander, when surrendering the 
squadron to his successor, spoke of himself as 
the winner of a sea fight, which had left him in 
undisputed mastery of the sea, and with this 
boast he handed over the ships to Callicratidas, 
who retorted, “If you will convey the fleet from 
Ephesus, keeping Samos to your right” (that 
is, past where the Athenian navy lay), “and 
hand it over to me at Miletus, I will admit 
that you are master of the sea.” But Lysander 
had no mind to interfere in the province of an- 
other officer. Thus Callicratidas assumed re- 
sponsibility. He first manned, in addition to the 
squadron which he received from Lysander, fifty 
new vessels furnished by the allies from Chios 
and Rhodes and elsewhere. When all these con- 
tingents were assembled, they formed a total of 


52 XENOPHON 


one hundred and forty sail, and with these he 
began making preparations for engagement 
with the enemy. But it was impossible for him 
not to note the strong current of opposition 
which he encountered from the friends of Ly- 
sander. Not only was there lack of zeal in their 
service, but they openly disseminated an opinion 
in the States, that it was the greatest possible 
blunder on the part of the Lacedemonians so 
to change their admirals. Of course, they must 
from time to time get officers altogether unfit 
for the post—men whose nautical knowledge 
dated from yesterday, and who, moreover, had 
no notion of dealing with human beings. It 
would be very odd if this practice of sending 
out people ignorant of the sea and unknown to 
the folk of the country did not lead to some ca- 
tastrophe. Callicratidas at once summoned the 
Lacedemonians there present, and addressed 
them in the following terms: 

“For my part,” he said, “I am content to 
stay at home: and if Lysander or any one else 
claim greater experience in nautical affairs than 
I possess, I have no desire to block his path. 
Only, being sent out by the State to take com- 
mand of this fleet, I do not know what is left 
to me, save to carry out my instructions to the 
best of my ability. For yourselves, all I beg of 
you, in reference to my personal ambitions and 
the kind of charges brought against our com- 


HELLENICA BOOK I 53 


mon city, and of which you are as well aware 
as I am, is to state what you consider to be the 
best course: am I to stay where I am, or shall 
I sail back home, and explain the position of 
affairs out here?” 

No one ventured to suggest any other course 
than that he should obey the authorities, and do 
what he was sent out to do. Callicratidas then 
went up to the court of Cyrus to ask for fur- 
ther pay for the sailors, but the answer he got 
from Cyrus was that he should wait for two 
days. Callicratidas was annoyed at the rebuff: 
to dance attendance at the palace gates was lit- 
tle to his taste. In a fit of anger he cried out 
at the sorry condition of the Hellenes, thus 
forced to flatter the barbarian for the sake of 
money. “If ever I get back home,” he added, 
“1 will do what in me lies to reconcile the Athe- 
nians and the Lacedemonians.” And so he 
turned and sailed back to Miletus. From Mi- 
letus he sent some triremes to Lacedemon to get 
money, and convoking the public assembly of 
the Milesians, addressed them thus: 

“Men of Miletus, necessity is laid upon me to 
obey the rulers at home; but for yourselves, 
whose neighbourhood to the barbarians has ex- 
posed you to many evils at their hands, I only 
ask you to let your zeal in the war bear some pro- 
portion to your former sufferings. You should 
set an example to the rest of the allies, and show 


BA XENOPHON 


us how to inflict the sharpest and swiftest in- 
jury on our enemy, whilst we await the return 
from Lacedemon of my envoys with the neces- 
sary funds. Since one of the last acts of Ly- 
sander, before he left us, was to hand back to 
Cyrus the funds already on the spot, as though 
we could well dispense with them. I was thus 
forced to turn to Cyrus, but all I got from him 
was a series of rebuffs; he refused me an audi- 
ence, and, for my part, I could not induce my- 
self to hang about his gates like a mendicant. 
But I give you my word, men of Miletus, that 
in return for any assistance which you can: ren- 
der us whilst waiting for these aids, I will re- 
quite you richly. Only by God’s help let us 
show these barbarians that we do not need to 
worship them, in order to punish our foes.” 
The speech was effective; many members of 
the assembly arose, and not the least eagerly 
those who were accused of opposing him. These, 
in some terror, proposed a vote of money, 
backed by offers of further private contribu- 
tions. Furnished with these sums, and having 
procured from Chios a further remittance of 
five drachmas* apiece as outfit for each seaman, 
he set sail to Methymna, in Lesbos, which was in 
the hands of the enemy. But as the Methym- 
neans were not disposed to come over to him 
(since there was an Athenian garrison in the 
place, and the men at the head of affairs were 
1 About $1.00. 


HELLENICA BOOK I 55 


partisans of Athens), he assaulted and took the 
place by storm. All the property within ac- 
cordingly became the spoil of the soldiers. The 
prisoners were collected for sale by Callicratidas 
in the market-place, where, in answer to the de- 
mand of the allies, who called upon him to sell 
the Methymnezans also, he made answer, that as 
long as he was in command, not a single Hel- 
lene should be enslaved if he could help it. The 
next day he set at liberty the free-born captives; 
the Athenian garrison with the captured slaves 
he sold. To Conon he sent word: He would 
put a stop to his strumpeting the sea. And 
catching sight of him, as he put out to sea, at 
break of day, he gave chase, hoping to cut him 
off from his passage to Samos, and prevent his 
taking refuge there. 

But Conon, aided by the sailing qualities of 
his fleet, the rowers of which were the pick of 
several ships’ companies, concentrated in a few 
vessels, made good his escape, seeking shelter 
within the harbour of Mitylene in Lesbos, and 
with him two of the ten generals, Leon and 
Erasinides. Callicratidas, pursuing him with 
one hundred and seventy sail, entered the har- 
bour simultaneously; and Conon thus hindered 
from further or final escape by the too rapid 
movements of the enemy, was forced to engage 
inside the harbour, and lost thirty of his ships, 
though the crews escaped to land. ‘The remain- 


56 XENOPHON 


der, forty in number, he hauled up under the 
walls of the town. Callicratidas, on his side, 
came to moorings in the harbour; and, having 
command of the exit, blockaded the Athenian 
within. His next step was to send for the 
Methymneans in force by land, and to trans- 
port his army across from Chios. Money also 
came to him from Cyrus. 

Conon, finding himself besieged by land and 
sea, without means of providing himself with 
corn from any quarter, the city crowded with 
inhabitants, and aid from Athens, whither no 
news of the late events could be conveyed, im- 
possible, launched two of the fastest sailing ves- 
sels of his squadron. These he manned, before 
daybreak, with the best rowers whom he could 
pick out of the fleet, stowing away the marines 
at the same time in the hold of the ships and 
closing the port shutters. Every day for four 
days they held out in this fashion, but at even- 
ing as soon as it was dark he disembarked his 
men, so that the enemy might not suspect what 
they were after. On the fifth day, having got 
in a small stock of provisions, when it was al- 
ready mid-day and the blockaders were paying 
little or no attention, and some of them even 
were taking their siesta, the two ships sailed out 
of the harbour: the one directing her course to- 
wards the Hellespont, whilst her companion 
made for the open sea. Then, on the part of 


HELLENICA BOOK I 57 


the blockaders, there was a rush to the scene of 
action, as fast as the several crews could get 
clear of land, in bustle and confusion, cutting 
away the anchors, and rousing themselves from 
sleep, for, as chance would have it, they had been 
breakfasting on shore. Once on board, how- 
ever, they were soon in hot pursuit of the ship 
which had started for the open sea, and ere the 
sun dipped they overhauled her, and after a suc- 
cessful engagement attached her by cables and 
towed her back into harbour, crew and all. Her 
comrade, making for the Hellespont, escaped, 
and eventually reached Athens with news of the 
blockade. The first relief was brought to the 
blockaded fleet by Diomedon, who anchored 
with twelve vessels in the Mitylenean Narrows. 
But a sudden attack of Callicratidas, who bore 
down upon him without warning, cost him ten 
of his vessels, Diomedon himself escaping with 
his own ship and one other. 

Now that the position of affairs, including 
the blockade, was fully known at Athens, a vote 
was passed to send out a reinforcement of one 
hundred and ten ships. Every man of ripe age, 
whether slave or free, was impressed for this 
service, so that within thirty days the whole one 
hundred and ten vessels were fully manned and 
weighed anchor. Amongst those who served in 
this fleet were also many of the knights. ‘The 
fleet at once stood out across to Samos, and 


58 XENOPHON 


picked up the Samian vessels in that island. The 
muster-roll was swelled by the addition of more 
than thirty others from the rest of the allies, to 
whom the same principle of conscription ap- 
plied, as also it did to the ships already engaged 
on foreign service. The actual total, therefore, 
when all the contingents were collected, was over 
one hundred and fifty vessels. 

Callicratidas, hearing that the relief squadron 
had already reached Samos, left fifty ships, un- 
der command of Eteonicus, in the harbour of 
Mitylene, and setting sail with the other one 
hundred and twenty, hove to for the evening 
meal off Cape Malea in Lesbos, opposite Mity- 
lene. It so happened that the Athenians on this 
day were supping on the islands of Arginuse, 
which lie opposite Lesbos. In the night the 
Spartan not only saw their watch-fires, but re- 
ceived positive information that “these were the 
Athenians;” and about midnight he got under 
weigh, intending to fall upon them suddenly. 
But a violent downpour of rain with thunder 
and lightning prevented him putting out to sea. 
By daybreak it had cleared, and he sailed to- 
wards Arginuse. On their side the Athenian 
squadron stood out to meet him, with their left 
wing facing towards the open sea, and drawn 
up in the following order: Aristocrates, in 
command of the left wing, with fifteen ships, 
led the van; next came Diomedon with fifteen 


HELLENICA BOOK I 59 


others, and immediately in rear of Aristocrates 
and Diomedon, respectively, as their supports, 
came Pericles and Erasinides. Parallel with 
Diomedon were the Samians, with their ten ships 
drawn up in single line, under the command of 
a Samian officer named Hippeus. Next to these 
came the ten vessels of the taxiarchs, also in 
single line, and supporting them, the three ships 
of the navarchs, with any other allied vessels 
in the squadron. The right wing was entrusted 
to Protomachus with fifteen ships, and next to 
him (on the extreme right) was Thrasylus with 
another division of fifteen. Protomachus was 
‘supported by Lysias with an equal number of 
ships, and Thrasylus by Aristogenes. The ob- 
ject of this formation was to prevent the enemy 
from manoeuvring so as to break their line by 
striking them amidships, since they were infe- 
rior in sailing power. 

The Lacedemonians, on the contrary, trust- 
ing to their superior seamanship, were formed 
opposite with their ships all in single line, with 
the special object of manoeuvring so as either 
to break the enemy’s line or to wheel round them. 
Callicratidas commanded the right wing in per- 
son. Before the battle the officer who acted as 
his pilot, the Megarian Hermon, suggested that 
it might be well to withdraw the fleet as the 
Athenian ships were far more numerous. But 
_Callicratidas replied that Sparta would be no 


60 XENOPHON 


worse off even if he personally should perish, 
but to flee would be disgraceful. And now the 
fleets approached, and for a long space the bat- 
tle endured. At first the vessels were engaged 
in crowded masses, and later on in scattered 
groups. At length Callicratidas, as his vessel 
dashed her beak into her antagonist, was hurled 
off into the sea and disappeared. At the same 
instant Protomachus, with his division on the 
right, had defeated the enemy’s left, and then 
the flight of the Peloponnesians began towards 
Chios, though a very considerable body of them 
made for Phocea, whilst the Athenians sailed 
back again to Arginuse. The losses on the side 
of the Athenians were twenty-five ships, crews 
and all, with the exception of the few who con- 
trived to reach dry land. On the Peloponnesian 
side, nine out of the ten Lacedzemonian ships, 
and more than sixty belonging to the rest of the 
allied squadron, were lost. 

After consultation, the Athenian generals 
agreed that two captains of triremes, Thera- 
menes and Thrasybulus, accompanied by some of 
the taxiarchs, should take forty-seven ships and 
sail to the assistance of the disabled fleet and 
of the men on board, while the rest of the squad- 
ron proceeded to attack the enemy’s blockading 
squadron under Eteonicus at Mitylene. In 
spite of their desire to carry out this resolution, 
the wind and a violent storm which arose pre- 


HELLENICA BOOK TI 61 


vented them. So they set up a trophy, and took 
up their quarters for the night. As to Kteoni- 
cus, the details of the engagement were faith- 
fully reported to him by the express despatch- 
boat in attendance. On receipt of the news, 
however, he sent the despatch-boat out again the 
way she came, with an injunction to those on 
board of her to sail off quickly without ex- 
changing a word with any one. ‘Then on a sud- 
den they were to return garlanded with wreaths 
of victory and shouting, “ Callicratidas has won 
a great sea-fight, and the whole Athenian squad- 
ron is destroyed.” This they did, and Eteoni- 
cus, on his side, as soon as the despatch-boat 
came sailing in, proceeded to offer sacrifice of 
thanksgiving in honour of the good news. 
Meanwhile he gave orders that the troops were 
to take their evening meal, and that the mas- 
ters of the trading ships were silently to stow 
away their goods on board the merchant ships 
and make sail as fast as the favourable breeze 
could speed them to Chios. The ships of war 
were to follow suit with what speed they might. 
This done, he set fire to his camp, and led off the 
land forces to Methymna. Conon, finding the 
enemy had made off, and the wind had grown 
comparatively mild, got his ships afloat, and so 
fell in with the Athenian squadron, which had 
by this time set out from Arginuse. 'To these 
he explained the proceedings of Kteonicus. The 


62 XENOPHON 


squadron put into Mitylene, and from Mitylene 
stood across to Chios, and thence, without af- 
fecting anything further, sailed back to Samos. 
VII.—AIl the above-named generals, with 
the exception of Conon, were presently deposed 
by the home authorities. In addition to Conon 
two new generals were chosen, Adeimantus and 
Philocles. Of those concerned in the late vic- 
tory two never returned to Athens: these were 
Protomachus and Aristogenes. The other six 
sailed home. ‘Their names were Pericles, Dio- 
medon, Lysias, Aristocrates, Thrasylus, and 
Erasinides. On their arrival Archidemus, the 
leader of the democracy at that date, who had 
charge of the two obol fund, inflicted a fine on 
Erasinides, and accused him before the Dicas- 
tery” of having appropriated money derived 
from the Hellespont, which belonged to the 
people. He brought a further charge against 
him of misconduct while acting as general, and 
the court sentenced him to imprisonment. 
These proceedings in the law. court were fol- 
lowed by the statement of the generals before 
the senate* touching the late victory and the 
magnitude of the storm. ‘Timocrates then pro- 


2 A legal tribunal or court of law. At Athens the free citizens 
constitutionally sworn and impannelled sat as “dicasts” (“ jury- 
men,” or rather as a bench of judges) to hear cases. Any par- 
ticular board of dicasts formed a “ dicastery.” 

3 This is the Senate or Council of Five Hundred. One of its 
chief duties was to prepare measures for discussion in the assem- 


— 


HELLENICA BOOK I 63 


posed that the other five generals should be put 
in custody and handed over to the public as- 
sembly.* Whereupon the senate committed them 
all to prison. ‘Then came the meeting of the 
public assembly, in which others, and more par- 
ticularly Theramenes, formally accused the gen- 
erals. He insisted that they ought to show 
cause wny they had not picked up the ship- 
wrecked crews. ΤῸ prove that there had been 
no attempt on their parts to attach blame to 
others, he might point, as conclusive testimony, 
to the despatch sent by the generals themselves 
to the senate and the people, in which they at- 
tributed the whole disaster to the storm, and 
nothing else. After this the generals each in 
turn made a defence, which was necessarily lim- 
ited to a few words, since no right of address- 
ing the assembly at length was allowed by law. 
Their explanation of the occurrences was that, 
in order to be free to sail against the enemy 
themselves, they had devolved the duty of pick- 
ing up the shipwrecked crews upon certain com- 
petent captains of men-of-war, who had them- 
selves been generals in their time, to wit, Thera- 
menes and Thrasybulus, and others of like stamp. 


bly. It had also a certain amount of judicial power, hearing 
complaints and inflicting fines up to fifty drachme. It sat daily, 
a “prytany ” of fifty members of each of the ten tribes in rota- 
tion holding office for a month in turn. 

4This is the great Public Assembly (the Ecclesia), consisting 
of all genuine Athenian citizens of more than twenty years of 
age. 


64 XENOPHON 


If blame could attach to any one at all with 
regard to the duty in question, those to whom 
their orders had been given were the sole per- 
sons they could hold responsible. “ But,” they 
went on to say, “ we will not, because these very 
persons have denounced us, invent a lie, and say 
that Theramenes and Thrasybulus are to blame, 
when the truth of the matter is that the mag- 
nitude of the storm alone prevented the burial 
of the dead and the rescue of the living.” In 
proof of their contention, they produced the 
pilots and numerous other witnesses from among 
those present at the engagement. By these ar- 
guments they were in a fair way to persuade the © 
people of their innocence. Indeed many pri- 
vate citizens rose wishing to become bail for the 
accused, but it was resolved to defer decision 
till another meeting of the assembly. It was 
indeed already so late that it would have been 
impossible to see to count the show of hands. 
It was further resolved that the senate mean- 
while should prepare a measure, to be introduced 
at the next assembly, as to the mode in which 
the accused should take their trial. 

Then came the festival of the Apaturia, with 
its family gatherings of fathers and kinsfolk. 
Accordingly the party of Theramenes procured 
numbers of people clad in black apparel, and 
close-shaven, who were to go in and present 
themselves before the public assembly in the 


HELLENICA BOOK I 65 


middle of the festival, as relatives, presumably, 
of the men who had perished; and they per- 
suaded Callixenus to accuse the generals in the 
senate. 'The next step was to convoke the as- 
sembly, when the senate laid before it the pro- 
posal just passed by their body, at the instance 
of Callixenus, which ran as follows: “ Seeing 
that both the parties to this case, to wit, the 
prosecutors of the generals on the one hand, and 
the accused themselves in their defence on the 
other, have been heard in the late meeting of the 
assembly; we propose that the people of Athens 
now record their votes, one and all, by their 
tribes; that a couple of voting urns be placed 
for the convenience of each several tribe; and 
the public crier in the hearing of each several 
tribe proclaim the mode of voting as follows: 
‘Let every one who finds the generals guilty of 
not rescuing the heroes of the late sea fight de- 
posit his vote in urn No. 1. Let him who is of 
the contrary opinion deposit his vote in urn No. 
2. Further, in the event of the aforesaid gen- 
erals being found guilty, let death be the pen- 
alty. Let the guilty persons be delivered over 
to the eleven. Let their property be confiscated 
to the State, with the exception of one tithe, 
which falls to the goddess.’ ” 

Now there came forward in the assembly a 
man, who said that he had escaped drowning by 
clinging to a meal tub. The poor fellows per- 


66 XENOPHON 


ishing around him had commissioned him, if he 
succeeded in saving himself, to tell the people 
of Athens how bravely they had fought for 
their fatherland, and how the generals had left 
them there to drown. 

Presently Euryptolemus, the son of Peisia- 
nax, and others served notice of indictment on 
Callixenus, insisting that his proposal was un- 
constitutional, and this view of the case was ap- 
plauded by some members of the assembly. But 
the majority kept crying out that it was mon- 
strous if the people were to be hindered by any 
stray individual from doing what seemed to 
them right. And then Lyciscus, embodying the 
spirit of those cries, formally proposed that if 
these persons would not abandon their action, 
they should be tried by the same vote along with 
the generals: a proposition to which the mob 
gave vociferous assent; and so these were com- 
pelled to abandon their summonses. Again, 
when some of the Prytanes objected to put a 
resolution to the vote which was in itself uncon- 
stitutional, Callixenus again got up and accused 
them in the same terms, and the shouting began 
again. “Yes, summons all who refuse,” until the 
Prytanes, in alarm, all agreed with one excep- 
tion to permit the voting. This obstinate dis- 
sentient was Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus, 
who insisted that he would do nothing except in 
accordance with the law. After this EKuryptole- 


HELLENICA BOOK I 67 


mus rose and spoke in behalf of the generals. 
He said: 

“T stand here, men of Athens, partly to ac- 
cuse Pericles, though he is a close and intimate 
connection of my own, and Diomedon, who is 
my friend, and partly to urge certain considera- 
tions on their behalf, but chiefly to press upon 
you what seems to me the best course for the 
State collectively. I hold them to blame in that 
they dissuaded their colleagues from their in- 
tention to send a despatch to the senate and this 
assembly, which should have informed you of 
the orders given to Theramenes and Thrasybu- 
lus to take forty-seven ships of war and pick 
up the shipwrecked crews, and of the neglect 
of the two officers to carry out those orders. 
And it follows that though the offence was 
committed by one or two, the responsibility must 
be shared by all; and in return for kindness in 
the past, they are in danger at present of sacri- 
ficing their lives to the machinations of these 
very men, and others whom I could mention. 
In danger, do I say, of losing their lives? No, 
not so, if you will suffer me to persuade you to 
do what is just and right; if you will only adopt 
such a course as shall enable you best to dis- 
cover the truth and shall save you from too late 
repentance, when you find you have transgressed 
irremediably against heaven and your own 
selves. In what I urge there is no trap nor 


68 XENOPHON 


plot whereby you can be deceived by me or any 
other man; it is a straightforward course which 
will enable you to discover and punish the of- 
fender by whatever process you like, collectively 
or individually. Let them have, if not more, 
at any rate one whole day to make what defence 
they can for themselves; and trust to your own 
unbiassed judgment to guide you to a right con- 
clusion. 

“You know, men of Athens, the exceeding 
stringency of the decree of Cannonus, which or- 
ders that man, whosoever he be, who is guilty 
of treason against the people of Athens, to be 
put in irons, and so to meet the charge against 
him before the people. If he be convicted, he 
is to be thrown into the Barathron and perish, 
and the property of such an one is to be con- 
fiscated, with the exception of the tithe which 
falls to the goddess. I call upon you to try 
these generals in accordance with this decree. 
Yes, and so help me God—if it please you, be- 
gin with my own kinsman Pericles, for base 
would it be on my part to make him of more 
account than the whole of the State. Or, if 
you prefer, try them by that other law, which 
is directed against robbers of temples and be- 
trayers of their country, which says: If a man 
betray his city or rob a sacred temple of the 
gods, he shall be tried before a law court, and 
if he be convicted, his body shall not be buried 


HELLENICA BOOK I 69 


in Attica, and his goods shall be confiscated to 
the State. ‘Take your choice as between these 
two laws, men of Athens, and let the prisoners 
be tried by one or other. Let three portions of 
a day be assigned to each respectively, one por- 
tion wherein they shall listen to their accusa- 
tion, a second wherein they shall make their de- 
fence, and a third wherein you shall meet and 
give your votes in due order on the question of 
their guilt or innocence. By this procedure the 
malefactors will receive the desert of their mis- 
deeds in full, and those who are innocent will 
owe to you, men of Athens, the recovery of 
their liberty, in place of unmerited destruction. 

“On your side, in trying the accused by rec- 
ognised legal procedure, you will show that you 
obey the dictates of pious feeling, and can re- 
gard the sanctity of an oath, instead of join- 
ing hands with our enemies the Lacedzemonians 
and fighting their battles. For is it not to fight 
their battles, if you take their conquerors, the 
men who deprived them of seventy vessels, and 
at the moment of victory send them to perdi- 
tion untried and in the teeth of the law? What 
are you afraid of, that you press forward with 
such hot haste? Do you imagine that you may 
be robbed of the power of life and death over 
whom you please, should you condescend to a 
legal trial? but that you are safe if you take shel- 
ter behind an illegality, like the illegality of 


70 XENOPHON 


Callixenus, when he worked upon the senate to 
propose to this assembly to deal with the ac- 
cused by a single vote? But consider, you may 
actually put to death an innocent man, and then 
repentance will one day visit you too late. Be- 
think you how painful and unavailing remorse 
will then be, and more particularly if your error 
has cost a fellow-creature his life. What a 
travesty of justice it would be if in the case of a 
man like Aristarchus, who first tried to destroy 
the democracy and then betrayed Oenoe to our 
enemy the Thebans, you granted him a day for 
his defence, consulting his wishes and conceded 
to him all the other benefits of the law; whereas 
now you are proposing to deprive of these same 
privileges your own generals, who in every way 
conformed to your views and defeated your ene- 
mies. Do not you, of all men, I implore you, 
men of Athens, act thus. Why, these laws are 
your own, to them, beyond all else you owe your 
greatness. Guard them jealously; in nothing, 
I implore you, act without their sanction. 

“ But now, turn for a moment and consider 
with me the actual occurrences which have 
created the suspicion of misconduct on the part 
of our late generals. The sea-fight had been 
fought and won, and the ships had returned to 
land, when Diomedon urged that the whole 
squadron should sail out in line and pick up the 
wrecks and floating crews. -Erasinides was in 


HELLENICA BOOK I 71 


favour of all the vessels sailing as fast as pos- 
sible to deal with the enemy’s forces at Mity- 
lene. And Thrasylus represented that both ob- 
jects could be effected, by leaving one division 
of the fleet there, and with the rest sailing against 
the enemy; and if this resolution were agreed to, 
he advised that each of the eight generals should 
leave three ships of his own division with the 
ten vessels of the taxiarchs, the ten Samian ves- 
sels, and the three belonging to the navarchs. 
These added together make forty-seven, four 
for each of the lost vessels, twelve in number. 
Among the taxiarchs left behind, two were 
Thrasybulus and Theramenes, the man who in 
the late meeting of this assembly undertook to 
accuse the generals. With the remainder of the 
fleet they were to sail to attack the enemy’s fleet. 
Everything, you must admit, was duly and ad- 
mirably planned. It is only common justice, 
therefore, that those whose duty it was to at- 
tack the enemy should render an account for all 
miscarriage of operations against the enemy; 
while those who were commissioned to pick up 
the dead and dying should, if they failed to 
carry out the instructions of the generals, be 
put on trial to explain the reasons of the failure. 
This indeed I may say in behalf of both parties. 
It was really the storm which, in spite of what 
the generals had planned, prevented anything 
being done. There are witnesses ready to attest 


72 XENOPHON 


the truth of this: the men who escaped as by a 
miracle, and among these one of these very gen- 
erals, who was on a sinking ship and was saved. 
And this man, who needed picking up as much 
as anybody at that moment, is, they insist, to be 
tried by one and the same vote as those who 
neglected to perform their orders! Once more, 
I beg you, men of Athens, to accept your vic- 
tory and your good fortune, instead of behaving 
like the desperate victims of misfortune and de- 
feat. Recognise the finger of divine necessity; 
do not incur the reproach of stony-heartedness 
by discovering treason where there was merely 
powerlessness, and condemning as guilty those 
who were prevented by the storm from carry- 
ing out their instructions. Nay! you will better 
satisfy the demands of justice by crowning 
these conquerors with wreaths of victory than 
by punishing them with death at the instigation 
of wicked men.” 

At the conclusion of his speech Kuryptolemus 
proposed, as an amendment, that the prisoners 
should, in accordance with the decree of Can- 
nonus, be tried each separately, as against the 
proposal of the senate to try them all by a sin- 
gle vote. 

At the show of hands the tellers gave the ma- 
jority in favour of EKuryptolemus’s amendment, 
but upon the application of Menecles, who took 
formal exception to this decision, the show of 


HELLENICA BOOK I 73 


hands was gone through again, and now the 
verdict was in favour of the resolution of the 
senate. Ata later date the balloting was made, 
and by the votes recorded the eight generals 
were condemned, and the six who were in Athens 
were put to death. 

Not long after, repentance seized the Athe- 
nians, and they passed a decree authorising the 
public prosecution of those who had deceived the 
people, and the appointment of proper securi- 
ties for their persons until the trial was over. 
Callixenus was one of these committed for trial. 
There were, besides Callixenus, four others 
against whom true bills were declared, and they 
were all five imprisoned by their sureties. But 
all subsequently effected their escape before the 
trial,/at the time of the sedition in which Cleo- 
phon was killed. Callixenus eventually came 
back when the party in Pireus returned to the 
city, at the date of the amnesty,'but only to 
die of hunger, an object of universal detesta- 
tion. 


HELLENICA 


BOOK II 


O return to Eteonicus and his troops in 
Chios. During summer they were well 
able to support themselves on the fruits 

of the season, or by labouring for hire in dif- 
ferent parts of the island, but with the approach 
of winter these means of subsistence began to 
fail. Ill-clad at the same time, and ill-shod, they 
fell to caballing and arranging plans to attack 
the city of Chios. It was agreed amongst them, 
that in order to gauge their numbers, every 
member of the conspiracy should carry a reed.’ 
Eteonicus got wind of the design, but was at 
a loss how to deal with it, considering the num- 
ber of these reed-bearers. To make an open 
attack upon them seemed dangerous. It would 
probably lead to a rush to arms, in which the 
conspirators would seize the city and commence 
hostilities, and, in the event of their success, 
everything hitherto achieved would be lost. Or 
again, the destruction on his part of many fel- 
low-creatures and allies was a terrible alterna- 
tive, which would place the Spartans in an unen- 

1The modernity of this passage will appeal to all. Methods 
of conspirators have changed little since the beginning of time. 

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HELLENICA BOOK II 75 


viable light with regard to the rest of Hellas, 
and render the soldiers ill-disposed to the cause 
in hand. Accordingly he took with him fifteen 
men, armed with daggers, and marched through 
the city. Falling in with one of the reed-bear- 
ers, ἃ man suffering from ophthalmia, who was 
returning from the surgeon’s house, he put him 
to death. This led to some uproar, and people 
asked why the man was thus slain. By Eteoni- 
cus’s orders the answer was set afloat, “‘ because 
he carried a reed.” As the explanation circu- 
lated, one reed-bearer after another threw away 
the symbol, each one saying to himself, as he 
heard the reason given, “I had better not be 
seen with this.” After a while Eteonicus called 
a meeting of the Chians, and imposed upon them 
a contribution of money, on the ground that 
with pay in their pockets the sailors would have 
no temptation to revolutionary projects. The 
Chians acquiesced. Whereupon Eteonicus 
promptly ordered his crews to get on board their 
vessels. He then rowed alongside each ship in 
turn, and addressed the men at some length in 
terms of encouragement and cheery admonition, 
just as though he knew nothing of what had 
taken place, and so distributed a month’s pay 
to every man on board. 

After this the Chians and the other allies held 
a meeting in Ephesus, and, considering the pres- 
ent posture of affairs, determined to send am- 


76 XENOPHON 


bassadors to Lacedemon with a statement of the 
facts, and a request that Lysander might be 
sent out to take command of the fleet. Lysan- 
der’s high reputation among the allies dated 
back to his former period of office, when as ad- 
miral he had won the naval victory of Notium. 
The ambassadors accordingly were despatched, 
accompanied by envoys also from Cyrus, 
charged with the same message. The Lacede- 
monians responded by sending them Lysander 
as second in command, with Aracus as admiral, 
since it was contrary to their custom that the 
same man should be admiral twice. At the 
same time the fleet was entrusted to Lysander. 

It was in this year that Cyrus put Auto- 
boesaces and Mitrzus to death. These were the 
sons of the sister of Darizus’ (the daughter of 
Xerxes, the father of Darius). He put them 
to death for neglecting, when they met him, 
to thrust their hands into the sleeve (or koré), 
which is a tribute of respect paid to the king 
alone. This koré is longer than the ordinary 
sleeve, so long, in fact, that a man with his hand 
inside is rendered helpless. In consequence of 
this act on the part of Cyrus, Hieramenes and — 
his wife urged upon Darieus the danger of 
overlooking such excessive insolence on the part 


2 Darieus, i. e. Darius, but the spelling of the name is cor- 
rect, and occurs in Ctesias, though in the Anabasis we have the 
spelling Darius. 


HELLENICA BOOK II ving 


of the young prince, and Darius, on the plea 
of sickness, sent a special embassy to summon 
Cyrus to his bedside. 

B. C. 405.—In the following year Lysander 
arrived at Ephesus, and sent for Eteonicus with 
his ships from Chios, and collected all other ves- 
sels elsewhere to be found. His time was now 
devoted to refitting the old ships and having new 
ones built in Antandrus. He also made a jour- 
ney to the court of Cyrus with a request for 
money. All Cyrus could say was, that not only 
the money sent by the king was spent, but much 
more besides; and he pointed out the various 
sums which each of the admirals had received, 
but at the same time he gave him what he asked 
for. Furnished with this money, Lysander ap- 
pointed captains to the different men-of-war, 
and remitted to the sailors their arrears of pay. 
Meanwhile the Athenian generals, on their side, 
were devoting their energies to the improvement 
of their navy at Samos. 

It was now Cyrus’s turn to send for Lysan- 
der. It was the moment at which the envoy from 
his father had arrived with the message: “ Your 
father is on his sick-bed and desires your pres- 
ence.” The king lay at Thamneria, in Media, 
near the territory of the Cadusians, against 
whom he had marched to put down a revolt. 
When Lysander presented himself, Cyrus was 
urgent with him not to engage the Athenians 


78 XENOPHON 


at sea unless he had many more ships than they. 
“The king,” he added, “and I have plenty of 
wealth, so that, as far as money goes, you can 
man plenty of vessels.” He then consigned to 
him all the tributes from the several cities which 
belonged to him personally, and gave him the 
ready money which he had as a gift; and finally, 
reminding him of the sincere friendship he en- 
tertained towards the state of Lacedemon, as 
well as to himself personally, he set out up 
country to visit his father. Lysander, finding 
himself thus left with the complete control of 
the property of Cyrus (during the absence of 
that prince, so summoned to the bedside of his 
father), was able to distribute pay to his troops, 
after which he set sail for the Ceramic Gulf 
of Caria. Here he stormed a city in alliance 
with the Athenians named Cedrezx, and on the 
following day’s assault took it, and reduced the 
inhabitants to slavery. These were of a mixed 
Hellene and barbarian stock. From Cedrex he 
continued his voyage to Rhodes. The Athe- 
nians meanwhile, using Samos as their base of 
operations, were employed in devastating the 
king’s territory, or in swooping down upon 
Chios and Ephesus, and in general were pre- 
paring for a naval battle, having but lately 
chosen three new generals in addition to those 
already in office, whose names were Menander, 
Tydeus and Cephisodotus. Now Lysander, 


HELLENICA BOOK II 79 


leaving Rhodes, and coasting along Ionia, made 
his way to the Hellespont, having an eye to the 
passage of vessels through the Straits, and, in a 
more hostile sense, on the cities which had re- 
volted from Sparta. The Athenians also set 
sail from Chios, but stood out to the open sea, 
since the seaboard of Asia was hostile to them. 
Lysander was again on the move; leaving 
Abydos, he passed up channel to Lampsacus, 
which town was allied with Athens; the men of 
Abydos and the rest of the troops advancing by 
land, under the command of the Lacedzemonian 
Thorax. They then attacked and took by storm 
the town, which was wealthy, and with its stores 
of wine and wheat and other commodities was 
pillaged by the soldiery. ΑἹ] free-born persons, 
however, were without exception released by Ly- 
‘sander. And now the Athenian fleet, following 
close on his heels, came to moorings at Elzus, in 
the Chersonesus, one hundred and eighty sail in 
all. It was not until they had reached this place, 
and were getting their early meal, that the news 
‘of what had happened at Lampsacus reached 
them. Then they instantly set sail again to Ses- 
tos, and having halted long enough merely to 
take in stores, sailed on further to A. gospotami, 
a point facing Lampsacus, where the Hellespont 
is not quite two miles broad. Here they took 
their evening meal. 
The night following, or rather early next 


80 XENOPHON 


morning, with the first streak of dawn, Lysan- 
der gave the signal for the men to take their 
breakfasts and get on board their vessels; and 
so, having got allready for a naval engagement, 
with his ports closed and movable bulwarks at- 
tached, he issued the order that no one was to 
stir from his post or put out to sea. As the 
sun rose the Athenians drew up their vessels 
facing the harbour, in line of battle ready for 
action; but Lysander declining to come out to 
meet them, as the day advanced they retired 
again to Aigospotami. Then Lysander ordered 
the swiftest of his ships to follow the Athenians, 
and as soon as the crews had disembarked, to 
watch what they did, sail back, and report to 
him. Until these look-outs returned he would 
permit no disembarkation from his ships. This 
performance he repeated for four successive 
days, and each day the Athenians put out to sea 
and challenged an engagement. 

But now Alcibiades, from one of his for- 
tresses, could espy the position of his fellow-coun- 
try-men, moored on an open beach beyond reach 
of any city, and forced to send for supplies to 
Sestos, which was nearly two miles distant, while 
their enemies were safely lodged in a harbour, 
with a city adjoining, and everything within 
reach. The situation did not please him, and 
he advised them to shift their anchorage to Ses- 
tos, where they would have the advantage of a 


HELLENICA BOOK II 81 


harbour and a city. ‘Once there,” he con- 
cluded, “ you can engage the enemy whenever it 
suits you.” But the generals, and more partic- 
ularly Tydeus and Menander, bade him go 
about his business. “We are generals now— 
not you,” they said; and so he went away. And, 
now for five days in succession the Athenians 
had sailed out to offer battle, and for the fifth 
time retired, followed by the same swift sailers 
of the enemy. But this time Lysander’s orders 
to the vessels so sent in pursuit were, that as 
soon as they saw the enemy’s crew fairly disem- 
barked and dispersed along the shores of the 
Chersonesus (a practice, it should be mentioned, 
which had grown upon them from day to day 
owing to the distance at which eatables had to 
be purchased, and out of sheer contempt, no 
doubt, of Lysander, who refused to accept bat- 
tle), they were to begin their return voyage, 
and when in mid-channel to hoist a shield. The 
orders were punctually carried out, and Lysan- 
der at once signalled to his whole squadron to 
put across with all speed, while Thorax, with 
the land forces, was to march parallel with the 
fleet along the coast. Aware of the enemy’s 
fleet, which he could see bearing down upon 
him, Conon had only time to signal to the crews 
to join their ships and rally to the rescue with 
all their might. But the men were scattered 
far and wide, and some of the vessels had only 


82 XENOPHON 


two out of their three banks of rowers, some 
only a single one, while others again were com- 
pletely empty. Conon’s own ship, with seven 
others in attendance on him and the Paralus,’ 
put out to sea, a little cluster of nine ves- 
sels, with their full complement of men; but 
every one of the remaining one hundred and 
seventy-one vessels were captured by Lysan- © 
der on the beach. As to the men them- 
selves, the large majority of them were eas- 
ily made prisoners on shore, a few only es- 
caping to the small fortresses of the neighbour- 
hood. Meanwhile Conon and his nine vessels 
made good their escape. For himself, knowing 
that the fortune of Athens was ruined, he put 
into Abarnis, the promontory of Lampsacus, 
and there picked up the great sails of Lysan- 
der’s ships, and then with eight ships set sail him- 
self to seek refuge with Evagoras in Cyprus, 
while the Paralus started for Athens with tid- 
ings of what had taken place. 

Lysander, on his side, conveyed the ships and 
prisoners and all other spoil back to Lampsacus, 
having on board some of the Athenian generals, 
notably Philocles and Adeimantus. On _ the 
very day of these achievements he despatched 
Theopompus, a Milesian privateersman, to 
Lacedemon to report what had taken place. 
This envoy arrived within three days and de- 


8 The Paralus—the Athenian sacred vessel. 


HMELLENICA BOOK IT 83 


livered his message. Lysander’s next step was 
to convene the allies and bid them deliberate as 
to the treatment of the prisoners. Many were 
the accusations here levied against the Athenians. 
There was talk of crimes committed against the 
laws of Hellas, and of cruelties sanctioned by 
popular decrees; which, had they conquered in 
the late sea-fight, would have been carried out; 
such as the proposal to cut off the right hand 
of every prisoner taken alive, and lastly the ill- 
treatment of two captured men-of-war, a Co- 
rinthian and an Andrian vessel, when every man 
on board had been hurled headlong down the 
cliff. Philocles was the very general of the 
Athenians who had so ruthlessly destroyed those 
men. Many other tales were told; and at length 
a resolution was passed to put all the Athenian 
prisoners, with the exception of Adeimantus, to 
death. He alone, it was pleaded, had taken 


_ exception to the proposal to cut off the prison- 


ers’ hands. On the other hand, he was himself 
accused by some people of having betrayed the 
fleet. As to Philocles, Lysander put to him 


| one question, as the officer who had thrown the 


Corinthians and Andrians down the cliff: 
What fate did the man deserve to suffer who 
had embarked on so cruel a course of illegality 


against Hellenes? and so delivered him to the 


executioner. 
II.—When he had set the affairs of Lampsa- 


84 XENOPHON 


cus in order, Lysander sailed to Byzantium and 
Chalcedon, where the inhabitants, having first 
dismissed the Athenian garrison under a flag 
of truce, admitted him within their walls. Those 
citizens of Byzantium, who had betrayed By- 
zantium into the hands of Alcibiades, fled as 
exiles into Pontus, but subsequently betaking 
themselves to Athens, became Athenian citizens. 
In dealing with the Athenian garrisons, and in- 
deed with all Athenians wheresoever found, Ly- 
sander made it a rule to give them safe conduct 
to Athens, and to Athens only, in the certainty 
that the larger the number collected within the 
city and Pireus, the more quickly the want of 
necessaries of life would make itself felt. And 
now, leaving Sthenelaus, a Laconian, as gov- 
ernor-general of Byzantium and Chalcedon, he 
sailed back himself to Lampsacus and devoted 
himself to refitting his ships. 

It was night when the Paralus reached Athens 
with her evil tidings, on receipt of which a bit- 
ter wail of woe broke forth. From Pireus, fol- 
lowing the line of the long walls up to the heart 
of the city, it swept and swelled, as each man 
to his neighbour passed on the news. On that 
night no man slept. There was mourning and 
sorrow for those that were lost, but the lamen- 
tation for the dead was merged in even deeper 
sorrow for themselves, as they pictured the evils 
they were about to suffer, the like of which they 


HELLENICA BOOK II 85 


had themselves inflicted upon the men of Melos, 
who were colonists of the Lacedzemonians, when 
they mastered them by siege. Or on the men 
of Histiza; on Scione and ‘Torone; on the 
A®ginetans, and many another Hellene city. 
On the following day the public assembly met, 
and, after debate, it was resolved to block up 
all the harbours save one, to put the walls in a 
state of defence, to post guards at various 
points, and to make all other necessary prepara- 
tion for a siege. Such were the concerns of the 
men of Athens. 

Lysander presently left the Hellespont with 
two hundred sail and arrived at Lesbos, where 
he established a new order of things in Mitylene 
and the other cities of the island. Meanwhile 
he despatched Eteonicus with a squadron of 
ten ships to the northern coasts, where that of- 
ficer brought about a revolution of affairs which 
placed the whole region in the hands of Lace- 


‘demon. Indeed, in a moment of time, after the 


sea-fight, the whole of Hellas had revolted from 
Athens, with the solitary exception of the men 
of Samos. These, having massacred the nota- 
bles, held the state under their control. After 
a while Lysander sent messages to Agis at De- 
celeia, and to Lacedemon, announcing his 
approach with a squadron of two hundred 
sail, 

In obedience to a general order of Pausanias, 


86 XENOPHON 


the other king of Lacedemon, a levy in force 
of the Lacedemonians and all the rest of Pelo- 
ponnesus, except the Argives, was set in motion 
for a campaign. As soon as the several contin- 
gents had arrived, the king put himself at their 
head and marched against Athens, encamping 
in the gymnasium of the Academy, as it is 
called. Lysander had now reached A‘gina, 
where, having got together as many of the 
former inhabitants as possible, he formally re- 
instated them in their city; and what he did in 
behalf of the Avginetans, he did also in behalf 
of the Melians, and of the rest who had been 
deprived of their countries. He then pillaged 
the island of Salamis, and finally came to moor- 
ings off Pireus with one hundred and fifty 
ships of the line, and established a strict block- 
ade against all merchant ships entering that 
harbour. 

The Athenians, finding themselves besieged 
by land and sea, were in sore perplexity what 
to do. Without ships, without allies, without 
provisions, the belief gained hold upon them 
that there was no way of escape. They must 
now, in their turn, suffer what they had them- 
selves inflicted upon others; not in retaliation, 
indeed, for ills received, but out of sheer inso- 
lence, overriding the citizens of petty states, and 
for no better reason than that these were allies 
of the very men now at their gates. In this 


HELLENICA BOOK II 87 


frame of mind they enfranchised those who at 
any time had lost their civil rights, and schooled 
themselves to endurance; and, albeit many suc- 
cumbed to starvation, no thought of truce or 
reconciliation with their foes was breathed. But 
when the stock of corn was absolutely insuffi- 
cient, they sent an embassage to Agis, proposing 
to become allies of the Lacedemonians on the 
sole condition of keeping their fortification 
walls and Pireus; and to draw up articles of 
treaty on these terms. Agis bade them betake 
themselves to Lacedemon, seeing that he had 
no authority to act himself. With this answer 
the ambassadors returned to Athens, and were 
forthwith sent on to Lacedemon. On reaching 
Sellasia, a town in Laconian territory, they 
waited till they got their answer from the 
ephors, who, having learnt their terms (which 
were identical with those already proposed to 
Agis), bade them instantly to be gone, and, if 
they really desired peace, to come with other 
proposals, the fruit of happier reflection. Thus 
the ambassadors returned home, and reported 
the result of their embassage, whereupon de- 
spondency fell upon all. It was a painful re- 
flection that in the end they would be sold into 
slavery; and meanwhile, pending the return of 
a second embassy, many must needs fall victims 
of starvation. The razing of their fortifications 
was not a solution which any one cared to rec- 


88 XENOPHON 


ommend. A senator, Archestratus, had indeed 
put the question in the senate, whether it were 
not best to make peace ‘with the Lacedzemonians 
on such terms as they were willing to propose; 
but he was thrown into prison. The Laconian 
proposals referred to involved the destruction 
of both long walls for a space of more than a 
mile. And a decree had been passed, making it 
illegal to submit any such proposition about the 
walls. Things having reached this pass, Thera- 
menes made a proposal in the public assembly 
as follows: If they chose to send him as an 
ambassador to Lysander, he would go and find 
out why the Lacedemonians were so unyield- 
ing about the walls; whether it was they really 
intended to enslave the city, or merely that they 
wanted a guarantee of good faith. Despatched 
accordingly, he lingered on with Lysander for 
three whole months and more, watching for the 
time when the Athenians, at the last pinch of 
starvation, would be willing to accede to any 
terms that might be offered. At last, in the 
fourth month, he returned and reported to the 
public assembly that Lysander had detained 
him all this while, and had ended by bidding him 
betake himself to Lacedzemon, since he had no 
authority himself to answer his questions, which 
must be addressed directly to the ephors. After 
this Theramenes was chosen with nine others to 
go to Lacedemon as ambassadors with full 


HELLENICA BOOK II 89 


powers. Meanwhile Lysander had sent an 
Athenian exile, named Aristoteles, in company 
of certain Lacedemonians, to Sparta to report 
to the board of ephors how he had answered 
Theramenes, that they, and: they alone, had 
supreme authority in matters of peace and 
war. 

Theramenes and his companions presently 
reached Sellasia, and being here questioned as 
to the reason of their visit, replied that they had 
full powers to treat of peace. After which the 
ephors ordered them to be summoned to their 
presence. On their arrival a general assembly 
was convened, in which the Corinthians and 
Thebans more particularly, though their views 
were shared by many other Hellenes also, urged 
the meeting not to come to terms with the Athe- 
nians, but to destroy them. The Lacedemo- 
nians replied that they would never reduce to 
slavery a city which was itself an integral por- 
tion of Hellas, and had performed a great and 
noble service to Hellas in the most perilous of 
emergencies. On the contrary, they were will- 
ing to offer peace on the terms now specified— 
namely, “That the long walls and the fortifica- 
tions of Pireus should be destroyed; that the 
Athenian fleet, with the exception of twelve ves- 
sels, should be surrendered; that the exiles should 
be restored; and lastly, that the Athenians should 
acknowledge the headship of Sparta in peace 


90 XENOPHON 


and war, leaving to her the choice of friends 
and foes, and following her lead by land and 
sea.” Such were the terms which Theramenes 
and the rest who acted with him were able to 
report on their return to Athens. As they en- 
tered the city, a vast crowd met them, trembling 
lest their mission should have proved fruitless, 
For indeed delay was no longer possible, so long 
already was the list of victims daily perishing 
from starvation. On the day following, the am- 
bassadors delivered their report, stating the 
terms upon which the Lacedzemonians were will- 
ing to make peace. ‘Theramenes acted as 
spokesman, insisting that they ought to obey the 
Lacedemonians and pull down the walls. A 
small minority raised their voice in opposition, 
but the majority were strongly in favour of the 
proposition, and the resolution was passed to ac- 
cept the peace. After that, Lysander sailed 
into the Pirzus, and the exiles were readmitted. 
And so they fell to levelling the fortifications 
and walls with much enthusiasm, to the accom- 
paniment of female flute-players, deeming that 
day the beginning of liberty to Greece. 

Thus the year drew to its close—during its 
middle months took place the accession of Dio- 
nysius, the son of Hermocrates the Syracusan, 
to the tyranny of Syracuse; an incident itself 
preceded by a victory gained over the Cartha- 
ginians by the Syracusans; the reduction of 


HELLENICA BOOK II 91 


Agrigentum through famine by the Carthagin- 
ians themselves; and the exodus of the Sicilian 
Greeks from that city. 

III. B. C. 404.—In the following year the 
people passed a resolution to choose thirty men 
who were to draft a constitution based on the 
ancestral laws of the State. The following 
were chosen to act on this committee: Poly- 
chares, Critias, Melobius, Hippolochus, Eu- 
cleides, Hiero, Mnesilochus, Chremo, Thera- 
menes, Aresias, Diocles, Phaedrias, Chereleos, 
Aneztius, Piso, Sophocles, Enatosthenes, Chari- 
cles, Onomacles, Theognis, Auschines, Theogenes, 
Cleomedes, Erasistratus, Pheido, Dracontides, 
Eumathes, Aristoteles, Hippomachus, Mnesithe- 
ides. After these transactions, Lysander set sail 
for Samos; and Agis withdrew the land force 
from Deceleia and disbanded the troops, dismiss- 
ing the contingents to their several cities. 

It was at this date, about the time of the solar 
eclipse, that Lycophron of Phere, who was am- 
_bitious of ruling over the whole of Thessaly, 
defeated those sections of the Thessalians who 
opposed him, such as the men of Larissa and 
others, and slew many of them. It was also 
about this date that Dionysius, now tyrant of 
Syracuse, was defeated by the Carthaginians, 
and lost Gela and Camarina. And again, a lit- 
tle later, the men of Leontini, who previously 
had been amalgamated with the Syracusans, sep- 


92 XENOPHON 


arated themselves from Syracuse and Dionysius, 
and asserted their independence, and returned 
to their native city. Another incident of this 
period was the sudden despatch and introduc- 
tion of Syracusan horse into Catana by Diony- 
sius. 

Now the Samians, though besieged by Lysan- 
der on all sides, were at first unwilling to come 
to terms. But at the last moment, when Lysan- 
der was on the point of assaulting the town, 
they accepted the terms, which allowed every 
free man to leave the island, but not to carry 
away any part of his property, except the 
clothes upon his back. On these conditions they 
marched out. The city and all it contained was 
then delivered over to its ancient citizens by 
Lysander, who finally appointed ten governors 
to garrison the island. After which, he dis- 
banded the allied fleet, dismissing them to their 
respective cities, while he himself, with the 
Lacedemonian squadron, set sail for Laconia, 
bringing with him the prows of the conquered 
vessels and the whole navy of Pireus, with the 
exception of twelve ships. He also brought the 
crowns which he had received from the cities as 
private gifts, and a sum of four hundred and 
seventy talents* in silver (the surplus of the 
tribute money which Cyrus had assigned to him 
for the prosecution of the war), besides other 
property, the fruit of his military exploits. All 

4 About $564,000. 


HELLENICA BOOK II 93 


these things Lysander delivered to the Lacede- 
monians in the latter end of summer.° 

The Thirty had been chosen almost im- 
mediately after the long walls and the for- 
tifications round Pireus had been razed. They 
were chosen for the express purpose of com- 
piling a code of laws for the future con- 
stitution of the State. The laws were 
always on the point of being published, yet they 
were never forthcoming; and the thirty com- 
pilers contented themselves meanwhile with ap- 
pointing a senate and the other magistracies as 
suited their fancy best. That done, they turned 
their attention, in the first instance, to such per- 
sons as were well known to have made their liv- 
ing as informers under the democracy, and to 
be thorns in the side of all respectable people. 
These they laid hold on and prosecuted on the 
capital charge. The new senate gladly recorded 
its vote of condemnation against them; and the 
rest of the world, conscious of bearing no re- 
semblance to them, seemed scarcely vexed. But 


5 So ends the account of the Peloponnesian war, begun by 
Thucydides and here finished by Xenophon. Thus far the latter 
historian appears to have intentionally followed the other’s 
method. He now takes up his independent work. The remain- 
ing portion of Book II was probably composed by him to form 
the connecting link between his “Sequel to Thucydides” and 
the “History of Hellenic Affairs,” which he wrote after re- 
turning from Asia in 399 8. c. This independent history takes 
up the middle and last parts of the Hellenica: Books III to 
VII, inclusive. 


94 XENOPHON 


the Thirty did not stop there. Presently they 
began to deliberate by what means they could 
get the city under their absolute control, in order 
that they might work their will upon it. Here 
again they proceeded tentatively; in the first 
instance, they sent (two of their number), 
Zschines and Aristoteles, to Lacedemon, and 
persuaded Lysander to support them in getting 
a Lacedemonian garrison despatched to Athens. 
They only needed it until they had got the “ ma- 
lignants ” out of the way, and had established 
the constitution; and they would undertake to 
maintain these troops at their own cost. Lysan- 
der was not deaf to their persuasions, and by his 
co-operation their request was granted. A body- 
guard, with Callibius as governor, was sent. 
And now that they had got the garrison, they | 
fell to flattering Callibius with all servile flat- 
tery, in order that he might give countenance to 
their doings. Thus they prevailed on him to 
allow some of the guards, whom they selected, 
to accompany them, while they proceeded to lay 
hands on whom they would; no longer confining 
themselves to base folk and people of no ac- 
count, but boldly laying hands on those who they 
felt sure would least easily brook being thrust 
aside, or, if a spirit of opposition seized them, 
could command the largest number of partisans. 
These were early days; as yet Critias was of 
one mind with Theramenes, and the two were 


᾿ 
, 
, 


Ϊ 
' 
' 
| 
Ι 


HELLENICA BOOK II 95 


friends. But the time came when, in proportion 
as Critias was ready to rush headlong into 
wholesale carnage, like one who thirsted for the 
blood of the democracy, which had banished 
him, Theramenes balked and thwarted him. It 
was barely reasonable, he argued, to put people 
to death who had never done a wrong to re- 
spectable people in their lives, simply because 
they had enjoyed influence and honour under 
the democracy. ‘“ Why, you and I, Critias,” he 
would add, “have said and done many things 
ere now for the sake of popularity.” To which 
the other (for the terms of friendly intimacy 
still subsisted) would retort, “ There is no choice 
left to us, since we intend to take the lion’s share, 
but to get rid of those who are best able to hin- 
der us. If you imagine, because we are thirty 


instead of one, our government requires one 


whit the less careful guarding than an actual 
tyranny, you must be very innocent.” 

So things went on. Day after day the list of 
persons put to death for no just reason grew 
longer. Day after day the signs of resentment 
were more significant in the groups of citizens 
banding together and forecasting the character 
of this future constitution; till at length Thera- 
menes spoke again, protesting: ‘There was no 
help for it but to associate with themselves a suf- 
ficient number of persons in the conduct of af- 


_ fairs, or the oligarchy would certainly come to 


96 XENOPHON 


anend. Critias and the rest of the Thirty, whose 
fears had already converted Theramenes into a 
dangerous popular idol, proceeded at once to 
draw up a list of three thousand citizens; fit and 
proper persons to have a share in the conduct of 
affairs. But Theramenes was not wholly satis- 
fied, ‘‘indeed he must say, for himself, he re- 
garded it as ridiculous, that in their effort to 
associate the better classes with themselves in 
power, they should fix on just that particular 
number, three thousand, as if that figure had 
some necessary connection with the exact num- 
ber of gentlemen in the State, making it impos- 
sible to discover any respectability outside or 
rascality within the magic number. And in the 
second place,” he continued, “I see we are try- 
ing to do two things, diametrically opposed; we 
are manufacturing a government, which is based 
on force, and at the same time inferior in 
strength to those whom we propose to govern.” 
That was what he said, but what his colleagues 
did, was to institute a military inspection or re- 
view. The Three Thousand were drawn up in 
the Agora, and the rest of the citizens, who were 
not included in the list, elsewhere in various 
quarters of the city. The order to take arms 
was given; but while the men’s backs were 
turned, at the bidding of the Thirty, the La- 
conian guards, with those of the citizens who 
shared their views, appeared on the scene and 


HELLENICA BOOK II 97 


took away the arms of all except the Three 
Thousand, carried them up to the Acropolis, and 
safely deposited them in the temple. 

The ground being thus cleared, as it were, and 

feeling that they had it in their power to do 
what they pleased, they embarked on a course of 
wholesale butchery, in which many were sacri- 
ficed to the merest hatred, many to the accident 
of possessing riches. Presently the question 
rose, How they were to get money to pay their 
guards? and to meet this difficulty a resolution 
was passed empowering each of the committee to 
seize on one of the resident aliens apiece, to put 
his victim to death, and to confiscate his prop- 
erty. Theramenes was invited, or rather told to 
seize some one or other. “Choose whom you 
will, only let it be done.” To which he made 
answer, it hardly seemed to him a noble or 
worthy course on the part of those who claimed 
to be the élite of society to go beyond the in- 
formers in injustice. ‘“ Yesterday they, to-day 
we; with this difference, the victim of the in- 
former must live as a source of income; our in- 
‘nocents must die that we may get their wealth. 
‘Surely their method was innocent in comparison 
with ours.” 

The rest of the Thirty, who had come to re- 
gard Theramenes as an obstacle to any course 
‘they might wish to adopt, proceeded to plot 
against him. They addressed themselves to the 


' 


98 XENOPHON 


members of the senate in private, here a man and 
there a man, and denounced him as the marplot 
of the constitution. Then they issued an order 
to the young men, picking out the most auda- 
cious characters they could find, to be present, 
each with a dagger hidden in the hollow of the 
armpit; and so called a meeting of the senate. 
When Theramenes had taken his place, Critias 
got up and eek the meeting: 

“Tf,” said he, “ any member of this cous 
here seated, imagines that an undue amount of 
blood has been shed, let me remind him that with 
changes of constitutions such things can not be 
avoided. It is the rule everywhere, but more 
particularly at Athens it was inevitable there 
should be found a specially large number of per- 
sons sworn foes to any constitutional change in 
the direction of oligarchy, and this for two rea- 
sons. First, because the population of this city, 
compared with other Hellenic cities, is enor- 
mously large; and again, owing to the length of 
time during which the people has battened upon 
liberty. Now, as to two points we are clear. 
The first is that democracy is a form of govern- 
ment detestable to persons like ourselves—to us 
and to you; the next is that the people of Athens 
could never be got to be friendly to our friends 
and saviours, the Lacedemonians. But on the 
loyalty of the better classes the Lacedemonians 
can count. And that is our reason for estab- 


HELLENICA BOOK II 99 


lishing an oligarchical constitution with their con- 
currence. That is why we do our best to rid us 
of every one whom we perceive to be opposed 
to the oligarchy; and, in our opinion, if one of 
ourselves should elect to undermine this consti- 
tution of ours, he would deserve punishment. 
Do you not agree? And the case,” he continued, 
“is no imaginary one. The offender is here 
present—Theramenes. And what we say of him 
is, that he is bent upon destroying yourselves 
and us by every means in his power. These are 
not baseless charges; but if you will consider it, 
you will find them amply established in his un- 
measured censure of the present posture of af- 
fairs, and his persistent opposition to us, his col- 
leagues, if ever we seek to get rid of any of these 
demagogues. Had this been his guiding princi- 
ple of action from the beginning, in spite of hos- 
tility, at least he would have escaped all imputa- 


tion of villainy. Why, this is the very man who 
originated our friendly and confidential rela- 


tions with Lacedemon. This is the very man 
who authorised the abolition of the democracy, 
who urged us on to inflict punishment on the 
earliest batch of prisoners brought before us. 
But to-day all is changed; now you and we are 
out of odour with the people, and he accordingly 
has ceased to be pleased with our proceedings. 
The explanation is obvious. In case of a catas- 
trophe, how much pleasanter for him once again 


100 XENOPHON 


to light upon his legs, and leave us to render 
account for our past performances. 

“T contend that this man is fairly entitled to 
render his account also, not only as an ordinary 
enemy, but as a traitor to yourselves and us. 
And let us add, not only is treason more formid- 
able than open war, in proportion as it is harder 
to guard against a hidden assassin than an open 
foe, but it bears the impress of a more enduring 
hostility, inasmuch as men fight their enemies 
and come to terms with them again and are fast 
friends; but whoever heard of reconciliation 
with a traitor? There he stands unmasked; he 
has forfeited our confidence for evermore. But 
to show you that these are no new tactics of his, 
to prove to you that he is a traitor in grain, I 
will recall to your memories some points in his 
past history. 

“He began by being held in high honour by 
the democracy; but taking a leaf out of his 
father’s, Hagnon’s, book, he next showed a most 
headlong anxiety to transform the democracy 
into the Four Hundred, and, in fact, for a time 
held the first place in that body. But presently, 
detecting the formation of a rival power to the 
oligarchs, round he shifted; and we find him 
next a ringleader of the popular party in assail- 
ing them. It must be admitted, he has well 
earned his nickname ‘ Buskin.’ Yes, Thera- 
menes! clever you may be, but the man who de- 


HELLENICA BOOK II 101 


serves to live should not show his cleverness in 
leading on his associates into trouble, and when 
some obstacle presents itself, at once veer round; 
but like a pilot on shipboard, he ought then to 
redouble his efforts, until the wind is fair. Else, 
how in the name of wonderment are those mar- 
iners to reach the haven where they would be, 
if at the first contrary wind or tide they turn 
about and sail in the opposite direction? Death 
and destruction are concomitants of constitu- 
tional changes and revolution, no doubt; but 
you are such an impersonation of change, that, 
as you twist and turn and double, you deal de- 
struction on all sides. At one swoop you are the 
ruin of a thousand oligarchs at the hands of the 
people, and at another of a thousand democrats 
at the hands of the better classes. Why, sirs, 
this is the man to whom the orders were given 


by the generals, in the sea-fight off Lesbos, to 


pick up the crews of the disabled vessels; and 
who, neglecting to obey orders, turned round 
and accused the generals; and to save himself 
murdered them! What, I ask you, of a man 
who so openly studies the art of self-seeking, 
deaf alike to the pleas of honour and to the 
claims of friendship? Would not leniency to- 
wards such a creature be misplaced? Can it be 
our duty at all to spare him? Ought we not 
rather, when we know the doublings of his na- 
ture, to guard against them, lest we enable him 


102 XENOPHON 


presently to practise on ourselves? The case is 
clear. We therefore hereby cite this man before 
you, as a conspirator and traitor against your- 
selves and us. The reasonableness of our con- 
duct, one further reflection may make clear. No 
one, I take it, will dispute the splendour, the 
perfection of the Laconian constitution. Imag- 
ine one of the ephors there in Sparta, in lieu of 
devoted obedience to the majority, taking on 
himself to find fault with the government and 
to oppose all measures. Do you not think that 
the ephors themselves, and the whole common- 
wealth besides, would hold this renegade worthy 
of condign punishment? So, too, by the same 
token, if you are wise, do you spare yourselves, 
not him. For what does the alternative mean? 
I will tell you. His preservation will cause the 
courage of many who hold opposite views to 
your own to rise; his destruction will cut off the 
last hopes of all your enemies, whether within 
or without the city.” 

With these words he sat down, but Thera- 
menes rose and said: “Sirs, with your permis- 
sion I will first touch upon the charge against 
me which Critias has mentioned last. The asser- 
tion is that as the accuser of the generals I was 
their murderer. Now I presume it was not I 
who began the attack upon them, but it was they 
who asserted that in spite of the orders given me 
I had neglected to pick up the unfortunates in 


HELLENICA BOOK II 108 


the sea-fight off Lesbos. All I did was to de- 
fend myself. My defence was that the storm 
was too violent to permit any vessel to ride at 
sea, much more therefore to pick up the men, 
and this defence was accepted by my fellow- 
citizens as highly reasonable, while the generals 
seemed to be condemned out of their own mouths. 
For while they kept on asserting that it was pos- 
sible to save the men, the fact still remained that 
they abandoned them to their fate, set sail, and 
were gone. 

“ However, I am not surprised, I confess, at 
this grave misconception on the part of Critias, 
for at the date of these occurrences he was not 
in Athens. He was away in Thessaly, laying 
the foundations of a democracy with Prome- 
theus, and arming the Peneste against their 
masters. Heaven forbid that any of his trans- 
actions there should be re-enacted here. How- 
ever, I must say, I do heartily concur with him 
on one point. Whoever desires to exclude you 
from the government, or to strengthen the 
hands of your secret foes, deserves and ought to 
meet with condign punishment; but who is most 
capable of so doing? That you will best dis- 
cover, I think, by looking a little more closely 
into the past and the present conduct of each 
of us. Well, then! up to the moment at which 
you were formed into a senatorial body, when 
the magistracies were appointed, and certain 


104 XENOPHON 


notorious ‘informers’ were brought to trial, we 
all held the same views. But later on, when our 
friends yonder began to hale respectable honest 
folk to prison and to death, I, on my side, began 
to differ from them. From the moment when 
Leon of Salamis, a man of high and well- 
deserved reputation, was put to death, though 
he had not committed the shadow of a crime, I 
knew that all his equals must tremble for them- 
selves, and, so trembling, be driven into opposi- 
tion to the new constitution. In the same way, 
when Niceratus, the son of Nicias, was arrested; 
a wealthy man, who, no more than his father, 
had never done anything that could be called 
popular or democratic in his life; it did not re- 
quire much insight to discover that his compeers 
would be converted into our foes. But to goa 
step further: when it came to Antiphon falling 
at our hands—Antiphon, who, during the war, 
contributed two fast-sailing men-of-war out of 
his own resources,—it was then plain to me, that 
all who had ever been zealous and patriotic must 
eye us with suspicion. Once more I could not 
help speaking out in opposition to my colleagues 
when they suggested that each of us ought to 
seize one resident alien. For what could be more 
certain than that their death-warrant would turn 
the whole resident foreign population into ene- 
mies of the constitution. I spoke out again when 
they insisted on depriving the populace of their 


HELLENICA BOOK II 105 


arms; it being no part of my creed that we ought 
to take the strength out of the city; nor, indeed, 
as far as I could see, had the Lacedemonians 
stept between us and destruction merely that we 
might become a handful of people, powerless to 
aid them in the day of need. Had that been 
their object, they might have swept us away to 
the last man. A few more weeks, or even days, 
would have sufficed to extinguish us quietly by 
famine. Nor, again, can I say that the impor- 
tation of mercenary foreign guards was alto- 
gether to my taste, when it would have been so 
easy for us to add to our own body a sufficient 
number of fellow-citizens to ensure our suprem- 
acy as governors over those we essayed to gov- 
ern. But when I saw what an army of malcon- 
tents this government had raised up within the 
city walls, besides another daily increasing host 
of exiles without, I could not but regard the 
banishment of people like Thrasybulus and 
Anytus and Alcibiades as impolitic. Had our 
object been to strengthen the rival power, we 
could hardly have set about it better than by 
providing the populace with the competent 
leaders whom they needed, and the would-be 
leaders themselves with an army of willing ad- 
herents. 

“Ὑ ask, then, is the man who tenders such ad- 
vice in the full light of day justly to be regarded 
as a traitor, and not as a benefactor? Surely 


106 XENOPHON 


Critias, the peacemaker, the man who hinders 
the creation of many enemies, whose counsels 
tend to the acquisition of yet more friends, can- 
not be accused of strengthening the hands of 
the enemy. Much more truly may the imputa- 
tion be retorted on those who wrongfully appro- 
priate their neighbour’s goods and put to death 
those who have done no wrong. ‘These are they 
who cause our adversaries to grow and multiply, 
and who in very truth are traitors, not to their 
friends only, but to themselves, spurred on by 
sordid love of gain. 

“T might prove the truth of what I say in 
many ways, but I beg you to look at the matter 
thus. With which condition of affairs here in 
Athens do you think will Thrasybulus and Any- 
tus and the other exiles be the better pleased? 
That which I have pictured as desirable, or that 
which my colleagues yonder are producing? For 
my part I cannot doubt but that, as things now 
are, they are saying to themselves, ‘ Our allies 
muster thick and fast.’ But were the real 
strength, the pith and fibre of the city, kindly 
disposed to us, they would find it an uphill task 
even to get a foothold anywhere in the country. 

“Then, with regard to what he said of me 
and my propensity to be for ever changing sides, 
let me draw your attention to the following 
facts. Was it not the people itself, the democ- 
racy, who voted the constitution of the Four 


ee 


HELLENICA BOOK 11 107 


Hundred? This they did, because they had 
learned to think that the Lacedemonians would 
trust any other form of government rather than 
a democracy. But when the efforts of Lacede- 
mon were not a whit relaxed, when Aristoteles, 
Melanthius, and Aristarchus, and the rest of 
them acting as generals, were plainly minded 
to construct an intrenched fortress on the mole 
for the purpose of admitting the enemy, and so 
getting the city under the power of themselves 
and their associates; because I got wind of these 
schemes, and nipped them in the bud, is that to 
be a traitor to one’s friends? 

“Then he threw in my teeth the nickname 
‘Buskin,’ as descriptive of an endeavour on my 
part to fit both parties. But what of the man 
who pleases neither? What in heaven’s name 
are we to call him? Yes! you—Critias? Under 
the democracy you were looked upon as the most 
arrant hater of the people, and under the aris- 
tocracy you have proved yourself the bitterest 
foe of everything respectable. Yes! Critias, I 
am, and ever have been, a foe of those who think 
that a democracy cannot reach perfection until 
slaves and those who, from poverty, would sell 
the city for a drachma, can get their drachma a 
day. But not less am I, and ever have been, a 
pronounced opponent of those who do not think 
there can possibly exist a perfect oligarchy until 
the State is subjected to the despotism of a few. 


108 XENOPHON 


On the contrary, my own ambition has been to 
combine with those who are rich enough to pos- 
sess a horse and shield, and to use them for the 
benefit of the State. That was my ideal in old 
days, and I hold to it without a shadow of turn- 
ing still. If you can mention when and where, 
in conjunction with despots or demagogues, I 
have set to my hand to deprive honest gentlefolk. 
of their citizenship, pray speak. If you can con- 
vict me of such crimes at present, or can prove 
my perpetration of them in the past, I admit 
that I deserve to die, and by the worst of 
deaths.” 

With these words he ceased, and the loud mur- 
mur of applause which followed marked the fa- 
vourable impression produced upon the senate. 
It was plain to Critias, that if he allowed his 
adversary’s fate to be decided by formal voting, 
Theramenes would escape, and life to himself 
would become intolerable. Accordingly he 
stepped forward and spoke a word or two in 
the ears of the Thirty. This done, he went out 
and gave an order to the attendants with the 
daggers to stand close to the bar in full view of 
the senators. Again he entered and addressed 
the senate thus: “1 hold it to be the duty of a 
good president, when he sees the friends about 
him being made the dupes of some delusion, to 
intervene. That at any rate is what I propose 
to do. Indeed our friends here standing by the 


HELLENICA BOOK II 109 


bar say that if we propose to acquit a man so 


openly bent upon the ruin of the oligarchy, they 
do not mean to let us do so. Now there is a 
clause in the new code forbidding any of the 
Three Thousand to be put to death without your 
vote; but the Thirty have power of life and 
death over all outside that list. Accordingly,” 
he proceeded, “ I herewith strike this man, Ther- 
amenes, off the list; and this with the concur- 
rence of my colleagues. And now,” he contin- 


ued, “we condemn him to death.” 


Hearing these words, Theramenes sprang 
upon the altar of Hestia, exclaiming: “ And I, 
sirs, supplicate you for the barest forms of law 
and justice. Let it not be in the power of Cri- 
tias to strike off either me, or any one of you 
whom he will. But in my case, in what may be 
your case, if we are tried, let our trial be in 
accordance with the law they have made con- 


cerning those on the list. I know,” he added, 


“but too well, that this altar will not protect me; 
but I will make it plain that these men are as 


- impious towards the gods as they are nefarious 


towards men. Yet I do marvel, good sirs and 
honest gentlemen, for so you are, that you will 
not help yourselves, and that too when you must 
see that the name of every one of you is as easily 
erased as mine.” 

But when he had got so far, the voice of the 
herald was heard giving the order to the Eleven 


110 XENOPHON 


to seize Theramenes. They at that instant en- 
tered with their satellites——at their head Sa- 
tyrus, the boldest and most shameless of the 
body,—and Critias exclaimed, addressing the 
Eleven, “ We deliver over to you Theramenes 
yonder, who has been condemned according to 
the law. Do you take him and lead him away 
to the proper place, and do there with him 
what remains to do.” As Critias uttered the 
words, Satyrus laid hold upon Theramenes to 
drag him from the altar, and the attendants lent 
their aid. But he, as was natural, called upon 
gods and men to witness what was happening. 
The senators the while kept silence, seeing the 
companions of Satyrus at the bar, and the whole 
front of the senate house crowded with the for- 
eign guards, nor did they need to be told that 
there were daggers in reserve among those pres- 
ent. 

And so Theramenes was dragged through the 
Agora, in vehement and loud tones proclaiming 
the wrongs that he was suffering. One word, 
which is said to have fallen from his lips, I cite. 
It is this: Satyrus, bade him “ Be silent, or he 
would rue the day ”’; to which he made answer, 
“And if I be silent, shall I not rue it?” Also, 
when they brought him the hemlock, and the 
time was come to drink the fatal draught, they 
tell how he playfully jerked out the dregs from 
the bottom of the cup, like one who plays “ Cot- 


HELLENICA BOOK IT 111 


tabos,”® with the words, “This to the lovely 


Critias.” These are but “apophthegms’”’ too 
trivial, it may be thought, to find a place in his- 


tory. Yet I must deem it an admirable trait in 
— this man’s character, if at such a moment, when 
~ death confronted him, neither his wits forsook 
him, nor could the childlike sportiveness vanish 


from his soul. 
IV.—So Theramenes met his death; and, now 


_ that this obstacle was removed, the Thirty, feel- 
ing that they had it in their power to play the 
_ tyrant without fear, issued an order forbidding 


all, whose names were not on the list, to set foot 
within the city. Retirement in the country dis- 
tricts was no protection; thither the prosecutor 
followed them, and thence dragged them, that 
their farms and properties might fall to the pos- 
session of the Thirty and their friends. Even 
Pireus was not safe; of those who sought 


_ refuge there, many were driven forth in similar 
_ fashion, until Megara and Thebes overflowed 


with the crowd of refugees. 

Presently Thrasybulus, with about seventy 
followers, sallied out from Thebes, and made 
himself master of the fortress of Phyle. The 


6A Sicilian game much in vogue at the drinking parties of 
young men at Athens. The simplest mode was when each threw 
the wine left in his cup so as to strike smartly in a metal basin, 
at the same time invoking his mistress’s name; if all fell into 
the basin and the sound was clear, it was a sign he stood well 
with her. 


112 XENOPHON 


weather was brilliant, and the Thirty marched 
out of the city to repel the invader; with them 
were the Three Thousand and the Knights. 
When they reached the place, some of the young 
men, in the foolhardiness of youth, made a dash 
at the fortress, but without effect; all they got 
was wounds, and so retired. The intention of 
the Thirty now was to blockade the place; by 
shutting off all the avenues of supplies, they 
thought to force the garrison to capitulate. But 
this project was interrupted by a steady down- 
fall of snow that night and the following day. 
Baffled by this all-pervading enemy they beat a 
retreat to the city, but not without the sacrifice 
of many of their camp-followers, who fell a 
prey to the men in Phyle. The next anxiety of 
the government in Athens was to secure the 
farms and country houses against the plunder- 
ings and forays to which they would be exposed, 
if there were no armed force to protect them. 
With this object a protecting force was de- 
spatched to the “boundary estates,” about two 
miles this side of Phyle. This corps consisted of 
the Lacedemonian guards, or nearly all of 
them, and two divisions of horse. They en- 
camped in a wild and broken district, and the 
round of their duties commenced. 

But by this time the small garrison above 
them had increased tenfold, until there were now 
something like seven hundred men collected in 


HELLENICA BOOK II 118 


Phyle; and with these Thrasybulus one night de- 
scended. When he was not quite half a mile 
from the enemy’s encampment he grounded 
arms, and a deep silence was maintained until it 
drew towards day. In a little while the men 
opposite, one by one, were getting to their legs 
or leaving the camp for necessary purposes, 
while a suppressed din and murmur arose, 
caused by the grooms currying and combing 
their horses. This was the moment for Thrasy- 
bulus and his men to snatch up their arms and 
make a dash at the enemy’s position. Some they 
felled on the spot; and routing the whole body, 
pursued them six or seven furlongs, killing one 
hundred and twenty hoplites and more. Of the 
cavalry, Nicostratus, “the beautiful,” as men 
called him, and two others besides were slain; 
they were caught while still in their beds. Re- 
turning from the pursuit, the victors set up a 
trophy, got together all the arms they had taken, 
besides baggage, and retired again to Phyle. A 
reinforcement of horse sent from the city could 
not discover the vestige of a foe; but waited on 
the scene of battle until the bodies of the slain 
had been picked up by their relatives, when they 
withdrew again to the city. 

After this the Thirty, who had begun to 
realise the insecurity of their position, were 
anxious to appropriate Eleusis, so that an asy- 
lum might be ready for them against the day of 


114 XENOPHON 


need. With this view an order was issued to the 
Knights; and Critias, with the rest of the Thirty, 
visited Eleusis. There they held a review of the 
Eleusinians in the presence of the Knights; and, 
on the pretext of wishing to discover how many 
they were, and how large a garrison they would 
further require, they ordered the townsfolk to 
enter their names. As each man did so he had to 
retire by a postern leading to the sea. But on 
the sea-beach this side there were lines of cavalry 
drawn up in waiting, and as each man appeared 
he was handcuffed by the satellites of the 
Thirty. When all had so been seized and se- 
cured, they gave orders to Lysimachus, the com- 
mander of the cavalry, to take them off to the 
city and deliver them over to the Eleven. Next 
day they summoned the heavy armed who were 
on the list, and the rest of the Knights to the 
Odeum, and Critias rose and addressed them. 
He said: “Sirs, the constitution, the lines of 
which we are laying down, is a work undertaken 
in your interests no less than ours; it is incumbent 
on you therefore to participate in its dangers, 
even as you will partake of its honours. We 
expect you, therefore, in reference to these 
Eleusinians here, who have been seized and se- 
cured, to vote their condemnation, so that our 
hopes and fears may be identical.” Then, point- 
ing to a particular spot, he said peremptorily, 
“You will please deposit your votes there 


HELLENICA BOOK II _ 115 


within sight of all.” It must be understood 
that the Laconian guards were present at this 
scene, armed to the teeth, and filling one-half of 
the Odeum. As to the proceedings themselves, 
they found acceptance with those members of 
the State, besides the Thirty, who could be sat- 
isfied with a simple policy of self-aggrandise- 
ment. 

But now Thrasybulus at the head of his fol- 
lowers, by this time about one thousand strong, 
descended from Phyle and reached Pireus in 
the night. The Thirty, on their side, informed 
of this new move, were not slow to rally to the 
rescue, with the Laconian guards, supported by 
their own cavalry and hoplites. And so they 
advanced, marching down along the broad car- 
riage road which leads into Pireus. The men 
from Phyle seemed at first inclined to dispute 
their passage, but as the wide circuit of the 
walls needed a defence beyond the reach of their 
still scanty numbers, they fell back in a compact 
body upon Munychia.’ Then the troops from 
the city poured into the Agora of Hippodamus.® 
Here they formed in line, stretching along and 
filling the street which leads to the temple of 
Artemis and the Bendideum. This line must 

7 The citadel of Pirzus. 

8 Named after the famous architect Hippodamus, who built 

the town. It was situated near where the two long walls joined 


the wall of Pirzus; a broad street led from it up to the citadel 
of Munychia. 


116 XENOPHON 


have been at least fifty shields deep; and in this 
formation they at once began to march up. As 
to the men of Phyle, they too blocked the street 
at the opposite end, and facing the foe. They 
presented only a thin line, not more than ten 
deep, though behind these, certainly, were 
ranged a body of targeteers and light-armed 
javelin men, who were again supported by an 
artillery of stone-throwers—a tolerably numer- 
ous division drawn from the population of the 
port and district itself. While his antago- 
nists were still advancing, Thrasybulus gave 
the order to ground their heavy shields, and 
having done so himself, whilst retaining the 
rest of his arms, he stood in the midst, and 
thus addressed them: “Men and fellow-citi- 
zens, L wish to inform some, and to re- 
mind others of you, that of the men you see 
advancing beneath us there, the right divi- 
sion are the very men we routed and pursued 
only five days ago; while on the extreme left 
there you see the Thirty. These are the men 
who have not spared to rob us of our city, 
though we did no wrong; who have hounded us 
from our homes; who have set the seal of pro- 
scription on our dearest friends. But to-day 
the wheel of fortune has revolved; that has 
come about which least of all they looked for, 
which most of all we prayed for. Here we 
stand with our good swords in our hands, face 


HELLENICA BOOK II 117 


to face with our foes; and the gods themselves 
are with us, seeing that we were arrested in the 
midst of our peaceful pursuits; at any moment, 
whilst we supped, or slept, or marketed, sen- 
tence of banishment was passed upon us: we 
had done no wrong,—nay, many of us were not 
even resident in the country. To-day, there- 
fore, I repeat, the gods do visibly fight upon 
our side; the great gods, who raise a tempest 
even in the midst of calm for our benefit, and 
when we lay to our hand to fight, enable our 
little company to set up the trophy of victory 
over the multitude of our foes. On this day 
they have brought us hither to a place where the 
steep ascent must needs hinder our foes from 
reaching with lance or arrow further than our 
foremost ranks; but we with our volleys of 
spears and arrows and stones cannot fail to 
reach them with terrible effect. Had we been 
forced to meet them vanguard to vanguard, on 
an equal footing, who could have been sur- 
prised? But as it is, all I say to you is, let fly 
your missiles with a will in right brave style. 
No one can miss his mark when ‘the road is full 
of them. ‘To avoid our darts they must be for 
ever ducking and skulking beneath their shields; 
but we will rain blows upon them in their blind- 
ness; we will leap upon them and lay them low. 
But, O sirs! let me call upon you so to bear 
yourselves that each shall be conscious to him- 


118 XENOPHON 


self that the victory was won by him and him 
alone. Victory—which, God willing, shall this 
day restore to us the land of our fathers, our 
homes, our freedom, and the rewards of civic 
life, our children, if children we have, our dar- 
lings, and our wives! Thrice happy those 
among us who as conquerors shall look upon 
this gladdest of all days. Nor less fortunate 
the man who falls to-day. Not all the wealth 
in the world shall purchase him a monument so 
glorious. At the right instant I will strike the 
keynote of the pean; then, with an invocation 
to the God of battle, and in return for the wan- 
ton insults they put upon us, let us with one 
accord wreak vengeance on yonder men.” 
Having so spoken, he turned round, facing 
the foemen, and kept quiet, for the order passed 
by the soothsayer enjoined on them, not to 
charge before one of their side was slain or 
wounded. “As soon as that happens,” said the 
seer, “we will lead you onwards, and the vic- 
tory shall be yours; but for myself, if I err not, 
death is waiting.” And herein he spoke truly, 
for they had barely resumed their arms when 
he himself, as though he were driven by some 
fatal hand, leapt out in front of the ranks, and 
so springing into the midst of the foe, was slain, 
and lies now buried at the passage of the Ceph- 
isus. But the rest were victorious, and pursued 
the routed enemy down to the level ground. 


HELLENICA BOOK II 11 


There fell in this engagement, out of the num- 
ber of the Thirty, Critias himself and Hippo- 
machus, and with them Charmides, the son of 
Glaucon, one of the ten archons in Pirzus, and 
of the rest about seventy men. ‘The arms of the 
slain were taken; but, as fellow-citizens, the 
conquerors forebore to despoil them of their 
coats. This being done, they proceeded to give 
back the dead under cover of a truce, when the 
men, on either side, in numbers stept forward 
and conversed with one another. Then Cleo- 
critus (he was the Herald of the Initiated, a 
truly “ sweet-voiced herald,” if ever there was), 
caused a deep silence to reign, and addressed 
their late combatants as follows: “ Fellow- 
citizens—Why do you drive us forth? why 
would you slay us? what evil have we wrought 
you at any time? or is it a crime that we have 
shared with you in the most solemn rites and 
sacrifices, and in festivals of the fairest: we 
have been companions in the chorus, the school, 
the army. We have braved a thousand dangers 
with you by land and sea in behalf of our com- 
mon safety, our common liberty. By the gods 
of our fathers, by the gods of our mothers, by 
the hallowed names of kinship, intermarriage, 
comradeship, those three bonds which knit the 
hearts of so many of us, bow in reverence be- 
fore God and man, and cease to sin against the 
land of our fathers: cease to obey these most 


120 XENOPHON 


unhallowed Thirty, who for the sake of private 
gain have in eight months slain almost more 
men than the Peloponnesians together in ten 
years of warfare. See, we have it in our power 
to live as citizens in peace; it is only these men, 
who lay upon us this most foul burthen, this 
hideous horror of fratricidal war, loathed of 
God and man. Ah! be well assured, for these 
men slain by our hands this day, ye are not the 
sole mourners. There are among them some 
whose deaths have wrung from us also many a 
bitter tear.” 

So he spoke, but the officers and leaders of 
the defeated army who were left, unwilling that 
their troops should listen to such topics at that 
moment, led them back to the city. But the 
next day the Thirty, in deep down-heartedness 
and desolation, sat in the council chamber. 'The 
Three Thousand, wherever their several divi- 
sions were posted, were everywhere a prey to 
discord. Those who were implicated in deeds of 
violence, and whose fears could not sleep, pro- 
tested hotly that to yield to the party in Pireus 
were preposterous. ‘Those on the other hand 
who had faith in their own innocence, argued in 
their own minds, and tried to convince their 
neighbours, that they could well dispense with 
most of their present evils. “‘ Why yield obedi- 
ence to these Thirty?” they asked. ‘“‘ Why as- 
sign to them the privilege of destroying the 


HELLENICA BOOK 1 121 


State?” In the end they voted a resolution to 
depose the government, and to elect another. 
This was a board of ten, elected one from each 
tribe. 

B. C. 403.—As to the Thirty, they retired to 
Eleusis; but the Ten, assisted by the cavalry 
officers, had enough to do to keep watch over 
the men in the city, whose anarchy and mutual 
distrust were rampant. The Knights did not 
return to quarters at night, but slept in the 
Odeum, keeping their horses and shields close 
beside them; indeed the distrust was so great 
that from evening onwards they patrolled the 
walls on foot with their shields, and at break of 
day mounted their horses, at every moment 
fearing some sudden attack upon them by the 
men in Pireus. ‘These latter were now so nu- 
merous, and of so mixed a company, that it was 
difficult to find arms for all. Some had to be 
content with shields of wood, others of wicker- 
work, which they spent their time in coating 
with whitening. Before ten days had elapsed 
guarantees were given, securing full citizen- 
ship, with equality of taxation and tribute to 
all, even foreigners, who would take part in the 
fighting. Thus they were presently able to take 
the field, with large detachments both of heavy 
infantry and light-armed troops, besides a divi- 
sion of cavalry, about seventy in number. Their 
system was to push forward foraging parties in 


122 XENOPHON 


quest of wood and fruits, returning at nightfall 
to Pireus. Of the city party no one ventured 
to take the field under arms; only, from time to 
time, the cavalry would capture stray pillagers 
from Pireus or inflict some damage on the main 
body of their opponents. Once they fell in 
with a party belonging to the deme /Axone, 
marching to their own farms in search of pro- 
visions. ‘These, in spite of many prayers for 
mercy and the strong disapprobation of many 
of the knights, were ruthlessly slaughtered by 
Lysimachus, the general of cavalry. The men 
of Pireus retaliated by putting to death a 
horseman, named Callistratus, of the tribe Le- 
ontis, whom they captured in the country. In- 
deed their courage ran so high at present that 
they even meditated an assault upon the city 
walls. And here perhaps the reader will pardon 
the record of a somewhat ingenious device on 
the part of the city engineer, who, aware of the 
enemy’s intention to advance his batteries along 
the racecourse, which slopes from the Lyceum, 
had all the carts and wagons which were to be 
found laden with blocks of stone, each one a 
cartload in itself, and so sent them to deposit 
their freights péle-méle on the course in ques- 
tion. ‘The annoyance created by these separate 
blocks of stone was enormous, and quite out of 
proportion to the simplicity of the contrivance. 

But it was to Lacedemon that men’s eyes 


HELLENICA BOOK 11 128 


now turned. The Thirty despatched one set of 
ambassadors from Eleusis, while another set 
representing the government of the city, that 
is to say the men on the list, was despatched to 
summon the Lacedemonians to their aid, on the 
plea that the people had revolted from Sparta. 
At Sparta, Lysander taking into account the 
possibility of speedily reducing the party in 
Pireus by blockading them by land and sea, 
and so cutting them off from all supplies, sup- 
ported the application, and negotiated the loan 
of one hundred talents to his clients, backed by 
the appointment of himself as harmost on land, 
and of his brother, Libys, as admiral of the 
fleet. And so proceeding to the scene of action 
at Eleusis, he got together a large body of Pelo- 
ponnesian hoplites, whilst his brother, the ad- 
miral, kept watch and ward by sea to prevent 
the importation of supplies into Pireus by 
water. Thus the men in Pireus were soon again 
reduced to their former helplessness, while the 
ardour of the city folk rose to a proportionally 
high pitch under the auspices of Lysander. 
Things were progressing after this sort when 
King Pausanias intervened. ‘Touched by a cer- 
tain envy of Lysander—(who seemed, by a final 
stroke of achievement, about to reach the pin- 
nacle of popularity, with Athens laid like a 
pocket dependency at his feet)—the king per- 
suaded three of the ephors to support him, and 


124 XENOPHON 


forthwith called out the ban. With him 
marched contingents of all the allied States, 
except Boeotians and Corinthians. These main- 
tained, that to undertake such an expedition 
against the Athenians, in whose conduct they 
saw nothing contrary to the treaty, was incon- 
sistent with their oaths. But if that was the 
language held by them, the secret of their be- 
haviour lay deeper; they seemed to be aware of 
a desire on the part of the Lacedemonians to 
annex the soil of the Athenians and to reduce 
the State to vassalage. Pausanias encamped on 
the Halipedon, as the sandy flat is called, with 
his right wing resting on Pireus, and Lysander 
and his mercenaries forming the left. His first 
act was to send an embassage to the party in 
Pireus, calling upon them to retire peaceably 
to their homes; when they refused to obey, he 
made, as far as mere noise went, the semblance 
of an attack, with sufficient show of fight to 
prevent his kindly disposition being too appar- 
ent. But gaining nothing by the feint, he was 
forced to retire. Next day he took two Laco- 
nian regiments, with three tribes of Athenian 
horse, and crossed over to the Mute Harbor, ex- 
amining the lie of the ground to discover how 
and where it would be easiest to draw lines of 
circumvallation round Pireus. As he turned 
his back to retire, a party of the enemy sallied 
out and caused him annoyance. Nettled at the 


| 


HELLENICA BOOK II 125 


liberty, he ordered the cavalry to charge at the 
gallop, supported by the ten-year-service® in- 
fantry, whilst he himself, with the rest of the 
troops, followed close, holding quietly back in 
reserve. ‘They cut down about thirty of the en- 
emy’s light troops and pursued the rest hotly to 
the theatre in Pireus. Here, as chance would 
have it, the whole light and heavy infantry of 
the Pireus men were getting under arms; and 
in an instant their light troops rushed out and 
dashed at the assailants; thick and fast flew 
missiles of all sorts—javelins, arrows, and sling 
stones. The Lacedemonians finding the num- 
ber of their wounded increasing every minute, 
and sorely galled, slowly fell back step by step, 
eyeing their opponents. ‘These meanwhile reso- 
lutely pressed on. Here fell Cheron and Thi- 
brachus, both polemarchs, here also Lacrates, an 
Olympic victor, and other Lacedemonians, all 
of whom now lie entombed before the city gates 
in the Ceramicus. 

Watching how matters went, Thrasybulus 
began his advance with the whole of his heavy 
infantry to support his light troops and quickly 
fell into line eight deep, acting as a screen to 
the rest of his troops. Pausanias, on his side, 
had retired, sorely pressed, about half a mile 
towards a bit of rising ground, where he sent 


91, e., who had already seen ten years of service; i. e., over 
twenty-eight, as the Spartan was eligible to serve at eighteen. 


126 XENOPHON 


orders to the Lacedemonians and the other al- 
lied troops to bring up reinforcements. Here, 
on this slope, he reformed his troops, giving his 
phalanx the full depth, and advanced against 
the Athenians, who did not hesitate to receive 
him at close quarters, but presently had to give 
way; one portion being forced into the mud and 
clay at Hale, while the others wavered and 
broke their line; one hundred and fifty of them 
were left dead on the field, whereupon Pausa- 
nias set up a trophy and retired. Not even so, 
were his feelings embittered against his adver- 
sary. On the contrary he sent secretly and in- 
structed the men of Pirzus, what sort of terms 
they should propose to himself and the ephors 
in attendance. ‘To this advice they listened. He 
also fostered a division in the party within the 
city. A deputation, acting on his orders, sought 
an audience of him and the ephors. It had all 
the appearance of a mass meeting. In ap- 
proaching the Spartan authorities, they had no 
desire or occasion, they stated, to look upon the 
men of Pireus as enemies; they would prefer a 
general reconciliation and the friendship of 
both sides with Lacedemon. The propositions 
were favourably received, and by no less a per- 
son than Nauclidas. He was present as ephor, 
in accordance with the custom which obliges two 


1 Hale, the salt marshy ground immediately behind the great 
harbour of Pirzus, but outside the fortification lines. 


HELLENICA BOOK II 127 


members of that board to serve on all military 
expeditions with the king, and with his col- 
league shared the political views represented by 
Pausanias, rather than those of Lysander and 
his party. Thus the authorities were quite ready 
to despatch to Lacedemon the representatives 
of Pireus, carrying their terms of truce with 
the Lacedemonians, as also two private individ- 
uals belonging to the city party, whose names 


were Cephisophon and Meletus. This double 


deputation, however, had no sooner set out to 
Lacedemon than the de facto government of 
the city followed suit, by sending a third set of 
representatives to state on their behalf: that 
they were prepared to deliver up themselves and 
the fortifications in their possession to the Lace-. 
dzemonians, to do with them what they liked. 
“Are the men of Pireus,” they asked, “ pre- 
pared to surrender Pireus and Munychia in the 
same way? If they are sincere in their profes- 
sion of friendship to Lacedemon, they ought to 
do so.” ‘The ephors and the members of assem- 
bly at Sparta gave audience to these several 
parties, and sent out fifteen commissioners to 
Athens empowered, in conjunction with Pausa- 
nias, to discover the best settlement possible. 
The terms arrived at were that a general peace 
between the rival parties should be established, 
liberty to return to their own homes being 
granted to all, with the exception of the Thirty, 


128 XENOPHON 


the Eleven, and the Ten who had been gover- 
nors in Pirzeus; but a proviso was added, en- 
abling any of the city party who feared to re- 
main at Athens to find a home in Eleusis. 

And now that everything was happily con- 
cluded, Pausanias disbanded his army, and the 
men from Pirzeus marched up under arms into 
the acropolis and offered sacrifice to Athena. 
When they were come down, the generals called 
a meeting of the Ecclesia, and Thrasybulus 
made a speech in which, addressing the city 
party, he said: “Men of the city! I have one 
piece of advice I would tender to you; it is that 
you should learn to know yourselves, and to- 
wards the attainment of that self-knowledge I 
would have you make a careful computation of 
your good qualities and satisfy yourselves on 
the strength of which of these it is that you 
claim to rule over us. Is it that you are more 
just than ourselves? Yet the people, who are 
poorer—have never wronged you for the pur- 
poses of plunder; but you, whose wealth would 
outweigh the whole of ours, have wrought many 
a shameful deed for the sake of gain. If, then, 
you have no monopoly of justice, can it be on 
the score of courage that you are warranted to 
hold your heads so high? If so, what fairer test 
of courage will you propose than the arbitra- 
ment of war—the war just ended? Or do you 
claim superiority of intelligence?—you, who 


HELLENICA BOOK 1Τ1 129 


with all your wealth of arms and walls, money 
and Peloponnesian allies, have been paralysed 
by men who had none of those things to aid 
them! Or is it on these Laconian friends of 
yours that you pride yourselves? What! when 
these same friends have dealt by you as men 
deal by vicious dogs. You know how that is. 
They put a heavy collar round the neck of the 
brutes and hand them over muzzled to their 
masters. So too have the Lacedemonians 
handed you over to the people, this very people 
whom you have injured; and now they have 
turned their backs and are gone. But” (turn- 
ing to the mass) “do not misconceive me. It 
is not for me, sirs, coldly to beg of you, in no 
respect to violate your solemn undertakings. I 
go further; I beg you, to crown your list of ex- 
ploits by one final display of virtue. Show the 
world that you can be faithful to your oaths, 
and flawless in your conduct.” By these and 
other kindred arguments he impressed upon 
them that there was no need for anarchy or dis- 
order, seeing that there were the ancient laws 
ready for use. And so he broke up the assem- 
bly. 

At this auspicious moment, then, they reap- 
pointed the several magistrates; the constitution 
began to work afresh, and civic life was recom- 
menced. At a subsequent period, on receiving 
information that the party at Eleusis were col- 


180 XENOPHON 


lecting a body of mercenaries, they marched out 
with their whole force against them, and put to 
death their generals, who came out to parley. 
These removed, they introduced to the others 
their friends and connections, and so persuaded 
them to come to terms and be reconciled. The 
oath they bound themselves by consisted of a 
simple asseveration: ‘‘ We will remember past 
offences no more;” and to this day’ the two 
parties live amicably together as good citizens, 
and the democracy is steadfast to its oaths. 

2 Practically the first volume of Xenophon’s “ History of Hel- 
lenic Affairs ” ends here. This history is resumed with the be- 
ginning of Book III, after the Cyreian expedition [of which 
episode we have a detailed account in the Anabasis from March 
B. c. 401 down to March 8. c. 399, when the remnant of the Ten 
Thousand was handed over to the Spartan general Thimbron in 
Asia]. Some incidents belonging to 8. σ. 402 are referred to 


in the opening paragraphs of Hellenica, III, but only as an 
introduction to the new matter. 


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ANABASIS 


BOOK I 


ARIUS and Parysatis had two sons: 
lL) the elder was named Artaxerxes, and 
the younger Cyrus. Now, as Darius 

lay sick and felt that the end of life drew near, 
he wished both his sons to be with him. The 
elder, as it chanced, was already there, but 
Cyrus he must needs send for from the province 
over which he had made him satrap, having ap- 
pointed him general moreover of all the forces 
that muster in the plain of the Castolus. Thus 
Cyrus went up, taking with him Tissaphernes 
as his friend, and accompanied also by a body 
of Hellenes, three hundred heavy armed men, 
under the command of Xenias the Parrhasian.' 
Now when Darius was dead, and Artaxerxes 
was established in the kingdom, Tissaphernes 
brought slanderous accusation against Cyrus 
before his brother, the king, of harbouring de- 
signs against him. And Artaxerxes, listening 
to the words of Tissaphernes, laid hands upon 
Cyrus, desiring to put him to death; but his 
mother made intercession for him, and sent him 
back again in safety to his province. He then, 
1 Parrhasia, a district and town in the southwest of Arcadia, 

131 


182 XENOPHON 


having so escaped through peril and dishonour, 
fell to considering, not only how he might avoid 
ever again being in his brother’s power, but 
how, if possible, he might become king in his 
stead. Parysatis, his mother, was his first re- 
source; for she had more love for Cyrus than 
for Artaxerxes upon his throne. Moreover, 
Cyrus’s behaviour towards all who came to him 
from the king’s court was such that, when he 
sent them away again, they were better friends 
to himself than to the king his brother. Nor 
did he neglect the barbarians in his own service; 
but trained them, at once to be capable as war- 
riors and devoted adherents of himself. Lastly, 
he began collecting his Hellenic armament, but 
with the utmost secrecy, so that he might take 
the king as far as might be at unawares. 

The manner in which he contrived the levying 
of the troops was as follows: First, he sent 
orders to the commandants of garrisons in the 
cities (so held by him), bidding them to get to- 
gether as large a body of picked Peloponnesian 
troops as they severally were able, on the plea 
that Tissaphernes was plotting against their 
cities; and truly these cities of Ionia had orig- 
inally belonged to Tissaphernes, being given to 
him by the king; but at this time, with the ex- 
ception of Miletus, they had all revolted to 
Cyrus. In Miletus, Tissaphernes, having be- 
come aware of similar designs, had forestalled 


ANABASIS BOOK I 133 


the conspirators by putting some to death and 
banishing the remainder, Cyrus, on his side, 
welcomed these fugitives, and having collected 
an army, laid siege to Miletus by sea and land, 
endeavouring to reinstate the exiles; and this 
gave him another pretext for collecting an 
armament. At the same time he sent to the 
king, and claimed, as being the king’s brother, 
that these cities should be given to himself 
rather than that Tissaphernes should continue 
to govern them; and in furtherance of this end, 
the queen, his mother, co-operated with him, so 
that the king not only failed to see the design 
against himself, but concluded that Cyrus was 
spending his money on armaments in order to 
make war on Tissaphernes. Nor did it pain him 
greatly to see the two at war together, and the 
less so because Cyrus was careful to remit the 
tribute due to the king from the cities which be- 
longed to Tissaphernes. 

A third army was being collected for him in 
the Chersonese, over against Abydos, the origin 
of which was as follows: There was a Lacede- 
monian exile, named Clearchus, with whom Cy- 
rus had become associated. Cyrus admired the 
man, and made him a present of ten thousand 
darics.” Clearchus took the gold, and with the 
money raised an army, and using the Cherso- 


2 About $50,000. The daric was a Persian gold coin = 125.55 
grains of gold. 


184 XENOPHON 


nese as his base of operations, set to work to 
fight the Thracians north of the Hellespont, in 
the interests of the Hellenes, and with such 
happy result that the Hellespontine cities, of 
their own accord, were eager to contribute 
funds for the support of his troops. In this 
way, again, an armament was being secretly 
maintained for Cyrus. 

Then there was the Thessalian Aristippus, 
Cyrus’s friend, who, under pressure of the rival 
political party at home, had come to Cyrus and 
asked him for pay for two thousand mercen- 
aries, to be continued for three months, which 
would enable him, he said, to gain the upper 
hand of his antagonists. Cyrus replied by pre- 
senting him with six months’ pay for four thou- 
sand mercenaries—only stipulating that Aris- 
tippus should not come to terms with his antag- 
onists without final consultation with himself. 
In this way he secured to himself the secret 
maintenance of a fourth armament. 

Further, he bade Proxenus, a Boeotian, who 
was another friend, get together as many men 
as possible, and join him on an expedition which 
he meditated against the Pisidians, who were 
causing annoyance to his territory. Similarly 
two other friends, Sophenetus the Stymphalian, 
and Socrates the Achzan, had orders to get to- 
gether as many men as possible and come to him, 
since he was on the point of opening a cam- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 135 


paign, along with the Milesian exiles, against 
Tissaphernes. These orders were duly carried 
out by the two in question. 

II.—But when the right moment seemed to 
him to have come, at which he should begin his 
march into the interior, the pretext which he put 
forward was his desire to expel the Pisidians 
utterly out of the country; and he began col- 
lecting both his Asiatic and his Hellenic arma- 
ments, avowedly against that people. From 
Sardis in each direction his orders sped: to 
Clearchus, to join him there with the whole of 
his army; to Aristippus, to come to terms with 
those at home, and to despatch to him the troops 
in his employ; to Xenias the Arcadian, who was 
acting as general-in-chief of the foreign troops 
in the cities, to present himself with all the men 
available, excepting only those who were ac- 
tually needed to garrison the citadels. He next 
summoned the troops at present engaged in the 
siege of Miletus, and called upon the exiles to 
follow him on his intended expedition, promis- 
ing them that if he were successful in his object, 
he would not pause until he had reinstated them 
in their native city. To this invitation they 
hearkened gladly; they believed in him; and with 
their arms they presented themselves at Sardis. 
So, too, Xenias arrived at Sardis with the con- 
tingent from the cities, four thousand hoplites; 
Proxenus, also, with fifteen hundred hoplites 


136 XENOPHON 


and five hundred light-armed troops; Sophzne- 
tus the Stymphalian, with one thousand hoplites; 
Socrates the Achzan, with five hundred hop- 
lites; while the Megarian Pasion came with three 
hundred hoplites and three hundred peltasts. 
This latter officer, as well as Socrates, belonged 
to the force engaged against Miletus. These all 
joined him at Sardis. 

But Tissaphernes did not fail to note these 
proceedings. An equipment so large pointed to 
something more than an invasion of Pisidia: so 
he argued; and with what speed he might, he set 
off to the king, attended by about five hundred 
horse. The king, on his side, had no sooner 
heard from Tissaphernes of Cyrus’s great ar- 
mament, than he began to make counter-prep- 
arations. 

Thus Cyrus, with the troops which I have 
named, set out from Sardis, and marched on 
and on through Lydia three stages, making two- 
and-twenty parasangs,’ to the river Meander. 
That river is two hundred feet broad, and was 
spanned by a bridge consisting of seven boats. 
Crossing it, he marched through Phrygia a sin- 
gle stage, of eight parasangs, to Colosse, an 
inhabited city, prosperous and large. Here he 
remained seven days, and was joined by Menon 
the Thessalian, who arrived with one thousand 


3 The Persian “farsang”=30 stades, nearly 1 league, 3} 
statute miles, though not of uniform value in all parts of Asia. 


ANABASIS BOOK I 137 


hoplites and five hundred peltasts, Dolopes, 
®nianes, and Olynthians. From this place he 
marched three stages, twenty parasangs in all, 
to Celenx, a populous city of Phrygia, large 
and prosperous. Here Cyrus owned:a palace 
and a large park full of wild beasts, which he 
used to hunt on horseback, whenever he wished 
to give himself or his horses exercise. ‘Through 
the midst of the park flows the river Meander, 
the sources of which are within the palace build- 
ings, and it flows through the city of Celene. 
The great king also has a palace in Celene, a 
strong place, on the sources of another river, the 
Marsyas, at the foot of the Acropolis. This 
river also flows through the city, discharging it- 
self into the Meander, and is five-and-twenty 
feet broad. Here is the place where Apollo is 
said to have flayed Marsyas, when he had con- 
quered him in the contest of skill. He hung up 
the skin of the conquered man, in the cavern 
where the spring wells forth, and hence the name 
of the river, Marsyas. It was on this site that 
Xerxes, as tradition tells, built this very palace, 
as well as the citadel of Celenz itself, on his 
retreat from Hellas, after he had lost the famous 
battle. Here Cyrus remained for thirty days, 
during which Clearchus the Lacedemonian ar- 
rived with one thousand hoplites and eight hun- 
dred Thracian peltasts and two hundred Cretan 
archers. At the same time, also, came Sosis the 


138 XENOPHON 


Syracusan with three thousand hoplites, and 
Sophenetus the Arcadian with one thousand 
hoplites; and here Cyrus held a review, and num- 
bered his Hellenes in the park, and found that 
they amounted in all to eleven thousand hop- 
lites and about two thousand peltasts. 

From this place he continued his march two 
stages—ten parasangs—to the populous city of 
Peltz, where he remained three days; while 
Xenias, the Arcadian, celebrated the Lycea with 
sacrifice, and instituted games. The prizes were 
head-bands of gold; and Cyrus himself was a 
spectator of the contest. From this place the 
march was continued two stages—twelve para- 
sangs—to Ceramon-agora, a populous city, the 
last on the confines of Mysia. Thence a march 
of three stages—thirty parasangs—brought him 
to Caystru-pedion, a populous city. Here Cyrus 
halted five days; and the soldiers, whose pay was 
now more than three months in arrear, came sev- 
eral times to the palace gates demanding their 
dues; while Cyrus put them off with fine words 
and expectations, but could not conceal his vex- 
ation, for it was not his fashion to stint payment, 
when he had the means. At this point Epyaxa, 
the wife of Syennesis, the king of the Cilicians, 
arrived on a visit to Cyrus; and it was said that 
Cyrus had received a large gift of money from 
the queen. At this date, at any rate, Cyrus 
gave the army four months’ pay. The queen 


ANABASIS BOOK I 139 


was accompanied by a bodyguard of Cilicians 
and Aspendians; and, if report speaks truly, 
Cyrus had intimate relations with the queen. 

From this place he marched two stages—ten 
parasangs—to Thymbrium, a populous city. 
Here, by the side of the road, is the spring of 
Midas, the king of Phrygia, as it is called, where 
Midas, as the story goes, caught the satyr by 
drugging the spring with wine. From this place 
he marched two stages—ten parasangs—to 
Tyrizum, a populous city. Here he halted three 
days; and the Cilician queen, according to the 
popular account, begged Cyrus to exhibit his 
armament for her amusement. The latter being 
only too glad to make such an exhibition, held a 
review of the Hellenes and barbarians in the 
plain. He ordered the Hellenes to draw up 
their lines and post themselves in their custom- 
ary battle order, each general marshalling his 
own battalion. Accordingly they drew up four- 
deep. The right was held by Menon and those 
with him; the left by Clearchus and his men; 
the centre by the remaining generals with theirs. 
Cyrus first inspected the barbarians, who 
marched past in troops of horse and companies 
of infantry. He then inspected the Hellenes; 
driving past them in his chariot, with the queen 
in her carriage. And they all had brass helmets 
and purple tunics, and greaves, and their shields 
uncovered. 


140 XENOPHON 


After he had driven past the whole body, he 
drew up his chariot in front of the centre of the 
battle-line, and sent his interpreter Pigres to the 
generals of the Hellenes, with orders to present 
arms and to advance along the whole line. This 
order was repeated by the generals to their men; 
and at the sound of the bugle, with shields for- 
ward and spears in rest, they advanced to meet 
the enemy. The pace quickened, and with a 
shout the soldiers spontaneously fell into a run, 
making in the direction of the camp. Great was 
the panic of the barbarians. The Cilician queen 
in her carriage turned and fled; the sutlers in the 
marketing place left their wares and took to 
their heels; and the Hellenes meanwhile came 
into camp with a roar of laughter. What 
astounded the queen was the brilliancy and or- 
der of the armament; but Cyrus was pleased to 
see the terror inspired by the Hellenes in the 
hearts of the Asiatics. 

From this place he marched on three stages— 
twenty parasangs—to Iconium, the last city of 
Phrygia, where he remained three days. Thence 
he marched through Lycaonia five stages— 
thirty parasangs. This was hostile country, and 
he gave it over to the Hellenes to pillage. At 
this point Cyrus sent back the Cilician queen 
into her own country by the quickest route; and 
to escort her he sent the soldiers of Menon, and 
Menon himself. With the rest of the troops 


ANABASIS BOOK I 141 


he continued his march through Cappadocia 
four stages—twenty-five parasangs—to Dana, 
a populous city, large and flourishing. Here 
they halted three days, within which interval Cy- 
rus put to death, on a charge of conspiracy, a 
Persian nobleman named Megaphernes, a 
wearer of the royal purple; and along with him 
another high dignitary among his subordinate 
commanders. 

From this place they endeavoured to force a 
passage into Cilicia. Now the entrance was by 
an exceedingly steep cart-road, impracticable 
for an army in face of a resisting force; and re- 
port said that Syennesis was on the summit of 
the pass guarding the approach. Accordingly 
they halted a day in the plain; but next day came 
a messenger informing them that Syennesis had 
left the pass; doubtless, after perceiving that 
Menon’s army was already in Cilicia on his own 
side of the mountains; and he had further been 
informed that ships of war, belonging to the 
Lacedemonians and to Cyrus himself, with 
Tamos on board as admiral, were sailing round 
from Ionia to Cilicia. Whatever the reason 
might be, Cyrus made his way up into the hills 
without let or hindrance, and came in sight of 
the tents where the Cilicians were on guard. 
From that point he descended gradually into a 
large and beautiful plain country, well watered, 
and thickly covered with trees of all sorts and 


142 XENOPHON 


vines. This plain produces sesame plentifully, 
as also panic and millet and barley and wheat; 
and it is shut in on all sides by a steep and lofty 
wall of mountains from sea to sea. Descending 
through this plain country, he advanced four 
stages—twenty-five parasangs—to ‘Tarsus, a 
large and prosperous city of Cilicia. Here stood 
the palace of Syennesis, the king of the coun- 
try; and through the middle of the city flows a 
river called the Cydnus, two hundred feet broad. 
They found that the city had been deserted 
by its inhabitants, who had betaken themselves, 
with Syennesis, to a strong place on the hills. 
All had gone, except the tavern-keepers. The 
sea-board inhabitants of Soli and Issi also re- 
mained. Now Epyaxa, Syennesis’s queen, had 
reached Tarsus five days in advance of Cyrus. 
During their passage over the mountains into 
the plain, two companies of Menon’s army were 
lost. Some said they had been cut down by the 
Cilicians, while engaged on some pillaging af- 
fair; another account was that they had been 
left behind, and being unable to overtake the 
main body, or discover the route, had gone 
astray and perished. However it was, they num- 
bered one hundred hoplites; and when the rest 
arrived, being in a fury at the destruction of 
their fellow-soldiers, they vented their spleen 
by pillaging the city of Tarsus and the palace 
to boot. Now when Cyrus had marched into 


ANABASIS BOOK I 143 


the city, he sent for Syennesis to come to him; 
but the latter replied that he had never yet put 
himself into the hands of any one who was his 
superior, nor was he willing to accede to the 
proposal of Cyrus now; until, in the end, his 
wife persuaded him, and he accepted pledges of 
good faith. After this they met, and Syennesis 
gave Cyrus large sums in aid of his army; while 
Cyrus presented him with the customary royal 
gifts—to wit, a horse with a gold bit, a necklace 
of gold, a gold bracelet, and a gold scimitar, a 
Persian dress, and lastly, the exemption of his 
territory from further pillage, with the privi- 
lege of taking back the slaves that had been 
seized, wherever they might chance to come upon 
them. 

I1I.—At Tarsus Cyrus and his army halted 
for twenty days; the soldiers refusing to ad- 
vance further, since the suspicion ripened in 
their minds, that the expedition was in reality 
directed against the king; and as they insisted, 
they had not engaged their services for that ob- 
ject. Clearchus set the example of trying to 
force his men to continue their march; but he 
had no sooner started at the head of his troops 
than they began to pelt him and his baggage 
train, and Clearchus had a narrow escape of 
being stoned to death there and then. Later on, 
when he perceived that force was useless, he 
summoned an assembly of his own men, and for 


144 XENOPHON 


a long while he stood and wept, while the men 
gazed in silent astonishment. At last he spoke 
as follows: ‘“‘ Fellow-soldiers, do not marvel 
that I am sorely distressed on account of the 
present troubles. Cyrus has been no ordinary 
friend to me. When I was in banishment he 
honoured me in various ways, and made me also 
a present of ten thousand darics. These I ac- 
cepted, but not to lay them up for myself for 
private use; not to squander them in pleasure, but 
to expend them on yourselves. And, first of all, 
I went to war with the Thracians, and with you 
to aid, I wreaked vengeance on them in behalf 
of Hellas; driving them out of the Chersonese, 
when they wanted to deprive its Hellenic in- 
habitants of their lands. But as soon as Cyrus 
summoned me, I took you with me and set out, 
so that, if my benefactor had any need of me, 
I might requite him for the good treatment I 
myself had received at his hands. . . . But 
since you are not minded to continue the march 
with me, one of two things is left to me to do: 
either I must renounce you for the sake of my 
friendship with Cyrus, or I must go with you at 
the cost of deceiving him. Whether I am about 
to do right or not, I cannot say, but I choose 
yourselves; and, whatever betide, I mean to 
share your fate. Never shall it be said of me by 
any one that, having led Greek troops against the 
barbarians, I betrayed the Hellenes, and chose 


ANABASIS BOOK I 145 


the friendship of the barbarian. No! since you 
do not choose to obey and follow me, I will fol- 
low after you. Whatever betide, I will share 
your fate. I look upon you as my country, my 
friends, my allies; with you I think I shall be 
honoured, wherever I be; without you I do not 
see how I can help a friend or hurt a foe. My 
decision is taken. Wherever you go, I go also.” 

Such were his words. But the soldiers, not 
only his own, but the rest also, when they heard 
what he said, and how he had scouted the idea 
of going up to the great king’s palace, ex- 
pressed their approval; and more than two thou- 
sand men deserted Xenias and Pasion, and took 
their arms and baggage-train, and came and en- 
camped with Clearchus. But Cyrus, in despair 
and vexation at this turn of affairs, sent for 
Clearchus. He refused to come; but, without 
the knowledge of the soldiers, sent a message to 
Cyrus bidding him keep a good heart, for that 
all would arrange itself in the right way; and 
bade him keep on sending for him, whilst he 
himself refused to go. After that he got to- 
gether his own men, with those who had joined 
him, and of the rest any who chose to come, and 
spoke as follows: “ Fellow-soldiers, it is clear 
that the relations of Cyrus to us are identical 
with ours to him. We are no longer his soldiers, 
since we have ceased to follow him; and he, on 
his side, is no longer our paymaster. He, how- 


146 XENOPHON 


ever, no doubt considers himself wronged by us; 
and though he goes on sending for me, I cannot 
bring myself to go to him: for two reasons, 
chiefly from a sense of shame, for I am forced. 
to admit to myself that I have altogether de- 
ceived him; but partly, too, because I am afraid 
of his seizing me and inflicting a penalty on me 
for the wrongs which he conceives that I have 
done him. In my opinion, then, this is no time 
for us to go to sleep and forget all about our- 
selves, rather it is high time to deliberate on our 
next move; and as long as we do remain here, 
we had better bethink us how we are to abide in 
security; or, if we are resolved to turn our backs 
at once, what will be the safest means of retreat; 
and, further, how we are to procure supplies, 
for without supplies there is no profit whatso- 
ever either in the general or the private soldier. 
The man with whom we have to deal is an ex- 
cellent friend to his friends, but a very dangerous 
enemy to his foes. And he is backed by a force 
of infantry and cavalry and ships such as we all 
alike very well see and know, since we can hardly 
be said to have posted ourselves at any great 
distance from him. If, then, any one has a sug- 
gestion to make, now is the time to speak.” With 
these words he ceased. 

Then various speakers stood up; some of their — 
own motion to propound their views; others in- 
spired by Clearchus to dilate on the hopeless dif- 


ἀν San BOOK I 147 


taying, or going back without 
the goodwill of Cyrus. One of these, in partic- 
ular, with a make-believe of anxiety to com- 
mence the homeward march without further 
pause, called upon them instantly to choose 
other generals, if Clearchus were not himself 
prepared to lead them back: “ Let them at once 
purchase supplies” (the market being in the 
heart of the Asiatic camp), “let them pack up 
their baggage: let them,” he added, “ go to Cy- 
rus and ask for some ships in order to return 
by sea: if he refused to give them ships, let them 
demand of him a guide to lead them back 
through a friendly district; and if he would not 
so much as give them a guide, they could but 
put themselves, without more ado, in marching 
order, and send on a detachment to occupy the 
pass—before Cyrus and the Cilicians, whose 
property,” the speaker added, “ we have so plen- 
tifully pillaged, can anticipate us.” Such were 
the remarks of that speaker; he was followed 
by Clearchus, who merely said: “ As to my act- 
ing personally as general at this season, pray 
do not propose it: I can see numerous obstacles 
to my doing so. Obedience, in the fullest, I can 
render to the man of your choice, that is another 
matter: and you shall see and know that I can 
play my part, under command, with the best of 
you.” 

After Clearchus another spokesman stood up, 


ficulty of either 


148 XENOPHON 


and proceeded to point out the simplicity of the 
speaker, who proposed to ask for vessels, just 
as if Cyrus were minded to renounce the expedi- 
tion and sail back again. ‘“ And let me further 
point out,” he said, ““ what a simple-minded no- 
tion it is to beg a guide of the very man whose 
designs we are marring. If we can trust any 
guide whom Cyrus may vouchsafe to give us, 
why not order Cyrus at once to occupy the pass 
in our behoof? For my part, I should think 
twice before I set foot on any ships that he 
might give us, for fear lest he should sink them 
with his men-of-war; and I should equally hesi- 
tate to follow any guide of his: he might lead us 
into some place out of which we should find it 
impossible to escape. I should much prefer, if 
I am to return against the will of Cyrus at all, 
to give him the slip, and so begone: which in- 
deed is impossible. But these schemes are sim- 
ply nonsensical. My proposal is that a deputa- 
tion of fit persons, with Clearchus, should go to 
Cyrus: let them go to Cyrus and ask him: what 
use he proposes to make of us? and if the busi- 
ness is at all similar to that on which he once 
before employed a body of foreigners—let us 
by all means follow: let us show that we are 
the equals of those who accompanied him on his 
march up formerly. But if the design should 
turn out to be of larger import than the former 
one—involving more toil and more danger— 


ANABASIS BOOK I 149 


we should ask him, either to give us good reasons 
for following his lead, or else consent to send us 
away into a friendly country. In this way, 
whether we follow him, we shall do so as friends, 
and with heart and soul, or whether we go back, 
we shall do so in security. ‘The answer to this 
shall be reported to us here, and when we have 
heard it, we will advise as to our best course.” 

This resolution was carried, and they chose 
and sent a deputation with Clearchus, who put 
to Cyrus the questions which had been agreed 
upon by the army. Cyrus replied as follows: 
That he had received news that Abrocomas, an 
enemy of his, was posted on the Euphrates, 
twelve stages off; his object was to march 
against this aforesaid Abrocomas: and if he were 
still there, he wished to inflict punishment on 
him, “ or if he be fled” (so the reply concluded), 
“we will there deliberate on the best course.” 
The deputation received the answer and reported 
it to the soldiers. 'The suspicion that he was 
leading them against the king was not dispelled; 
but it seemed best to follow him. They only de- 
manded an increase of pay, and Cyrus promised 
to give them half as much again as they had 
hitherto received,—that is to say, a daric and a 
half * a month to each man, instead of a daric. 


41. e, roughly speaking, $7.50 in lieu of $5.00. The daric 
“was in value nearly equivalent to a sovereign, and of a very 
convenient size and shape.’—Percy Gardner, “The Types of 
Greek Coins.” 


150 XENOPHON 


Was he really leading them to attack the king? 
Not even at this moment was any one apprised 
of the fact, at any rate in any open and public 
manner. 

IV.—From this point he marched two stages 
—ten parasangs—to the river Psarus, which is 
two hundred feet broad, and from the Psarus he 
marched a single stage—five parasangs—to the 
river Pyramus, which is about two hundred yards 
broad, and from the Pyramus two stages—fif- 
teen parasangs—to Issi, the last city in Cilicia. 
It lies on the seaboard—a prosperous, large and 
flourishing town. Here they halted three days, 
and here Cyrus was joined by his fleet. There 
were thirty-five ships from Peloponnesus, with 
the Lacedemonian admiral Pythagoras on 
board. ‘These had been piloted from Ephesus 
by Tamos the Egyptian, who himself had an- 
other fleet of twenty-five ships belonging to 
Cyrus. These had formed Tamos’s blockading 
squadron at Miletus, when that city sided with 
Tissaphernes; he had also used them in other 
military services rendered to Cyrus in his opera- 
tions against that satrap. ‘There was a third of- 
ficer on board the fleet, the Lacedzemonian 
Cheirisophus, who had been sent for by Cyrus, 
and had brought with him seven hundred hop- 
lites, over whom he was to act as general in the 
service of Cyrus. The fleet lay at anchor op- 
posite Cyrus’s tent. Here too another rein- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 151 


forcement presented itself. This was a body of 
four hundred hoplites, Hellenic mercenaries in 
the service of Abrocomas, who deserted him for 
Cyrus, and joined in the campaign against the 
king. 

From Issi, he marched a single stage—five 
parasangs—to the gates of Cilicia and Syria. 
This was a double fortress: the inner and nearer 
one, which protects Cilicia, was held by Syen- 
nesis and a garrison of Cilicians; the outer and 
further one, protecting Syria, was reported to 
be garrisoned by a body of the king’s troops. 
Through the gap between the two fortresses 
flows a river named the Carsus, which is a hun- 
dred feet broad, and the whole space between 
was scarcely more than six hundred yards. To 
force a passage here would be impossible, so 
- narrow was the pass itself, with the fortification 
walls stretching down to the sea, and precipitous 
rocks above; while both fortresses were fur- 
nished with gates. It was the existence of this 
pass which had induced Cyrus to send for the 
fleet, so as to enable him to lead a body of hop- 
lites inside and outside the gates; and so to force 
a passage through the eneiny, if he were guard- 
ing the Syrian gate, as he fully expected to find 
Abrocomas doing with a large army. This, how- 
ever, Abrocomas had not done; but as soon as 
he learnt that Cyrus was in Cilicia, he had turned 
round and made his exit from Pheenicia, to join 


152 XENOPHON 


the king with an army amounting, as report 
said, to three hundred thousand men. 

From this point Cyrus pursued his march 
through Syria a single stage—five parasangs— 
to Myriandrus, a city inhabited by Phcenicians, 
on the sea-coast. This was a commercial port, 
and numerous merchant vessels were riding at 
anchor in the harbour. Here they halted seven 
days, and here Xenias the Arcadian general, and 
Pasion the Megarian got on board a trader, and 
having stowed away their most valuable ef- 
fects, set sail for home; most people explained 
the act as the outcome of a fit of jealousy, be- 
cause Cyrus had allowed Clearchus to retain 
their men, who had deserted to him, in hopes of 
returning to Hellas instead of marching against 
the king; when the two had so vanished, a rumour 
spread that Cyrus was after them with some 
ships of war, and some hoped the cowards might 
be caught, others pitied them, if that should be 
their fate. 

But Cyrus summoned the generals and ad- 
dressed them: ‘“ Xenias and Pasion,” he said, 
“have taken leave of us; but they need not flat- 
ter themselves that in so doing they have stolen 
into hiding. I know where they are gone; nor 
will they owe their escape to speed; I have men- 
of-war to capture their craft, if I like. But 
heaven help me! if I mean to pursue them: never 
shall it be said of me, that I turn people to ac- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 153 


count as long as they stay with me; but as soon 
as they are minded to be off’, I seize and maltreat 
them, and strip them of their wealth. Not so! 
let them go with the consciousness that our be- 
haviour to them is better than theirs to us. And 
yet I have their children and wives safe under 
lock and key in Tralles; but they shall not be 
deprived even of these. They shall receive them 
back in return for their former goodness to me.” 
So he spoke, and the Hellenes, even those who 
had been out of heart at the thought of march- 
ing up the country, when they heard of the no- 
bleness of Cyrus, were happier and more eager 
to follow him on his path. 

After this Cyrus marched onwards four 
stages—twenty parasangs—to the river Chalus. 
That river is a hundred feet broad, and is stocked 
with large tame fish which the Syrians regard 
as gods, and will not suffer to be injured—and 
so too the pigeons of the place. The villages in 
which they encamped belonged to Parysatis, as 
part of her girdle money.’ From this point he 
marched on five stages—thirty parasangs—to 
the sources of the river Dardas, which is a hun- 


5“ Why, I have been informed by a credible person, who went 
up to the king [at Susa], that he passed through a large tract 
of excellent land, extending for nearly a day’s journey, which 
the people of the country called the queen’s girdle, and another 
which they called her veil,’ ete.—Prof. Jowett. Olympiodorus 
and the Scholiast both suppose that Plato here refers to Xeno- 
phon and this passage of the Anabasis. 


154 XENOPHON 


dred feet broad. Here stood the palace of 
Belesys, the ruler of Syria, with its park—which 
was a very large and beautiful one, and full of 
the products of all the seasons in their course. 
But Cyrus cut down the park and burnt the 
palace. Thence he marched on three stages— 
fifteen parasangs—to the river Euphrates, 
which is nearly half a mile broad. A large and 
flourishing city, named Thapsacus, stands on its 
banks. Here they halted five days, and here Cy- 
rus sent for'the generals of the Hellenes, and 
told them that the advance was now to be upon 
Babylon, against the great king; he bade them 
communicate this information to the soldiers and 
persuade them to follow. ‘The generals called 
an assembly, and announced the news to the sol- 
diers. The latter were indignant and angry 
with the generals, accusing them of having kept 
secret what they had long known; and refused to 
go, unless such a bribe of money were given 
them as had been given to their predecessors, 
when they went up with Cyrus to the court of 
his father, not as now to fight a battle, but on a 
peaceful errand—the visit of a son to his father 
by invitation. The demand was reported to Cy- 
rus by the generals, and he undertook to give 
each man five silver mine*° as soon as Babylon 
was reached, and their pay in full, until he had 
safely conveyed them back to Ionia again. In 
this manner the Hellenic force were persuaded, 
6 About $100. 


ANABASIS BOOK I 155 


—that is to say, the majority of them. Menon, 
indeed, before it was clear what the rest of the 
soldiers would do—whether, in fact, they would 
follow Cyrus or not—collected his own troops 
apart and made them the following speech: 
“ Men,” he said, “1 you will listen to me, there 
is a method by which, without risk or toil, you 
may win the special favour of Cyrus beyond the 
rest of the soldiers. You ask what it is I would 
have you do? I will tell you. Cyrus at this in- 
stant is begging the Hellenes to follow him to 
attack the king. I say then: Cross the Euphra- 
tes at once, before it is clear what answer the 
rest will make; if they vote in favour of follow- 
ing, you will get the credit of having set the ex- 
ample, and Cyrus will be grateful to you. He 
will look upon you as being the heartiest in his 
cause; he will repay, as of all others he best 
knows how; while, if the rest vote against cross- 
ing, we shall all go back again; but as the sole 
adherents, whose fidelity he can altogether trust, 
it is you whom Cyrus will turn to account, as 
commandants of garrisons or captains of com- 
panies. You need only ask him for whatever 
you want, and you will get it from him, as being 
the friends of Cyrus.” 

The men heard and obeyed, and before the 
rest had given their answer, they were already 
across. But when Cyrus perceived that Menon’s 
troops had crossed, he was well pleased, and he 


156 XENOPHON 


sent Glus to the division in question, with this 
message: “ Soldiers, accept my thanks at pres- 
ent; eventually you shall thank me. I will see 
to that, or my name is not Cyrus.” The sol- 
diers therefore could not but pray heartily for 
his success; so high their hopes ran. But to 
Menon, it was said, he sent gifts with lordly lib- 
erality. This done, Cyrus proceeded to cross; 
and in his wake followed the rest of the arma- 
ment to a man. As they forded, never a man 
was wetted above the chest: nor ever until this 
moment, said the men of Thapsacus, had the 
river been so crossed on foot, boats had always 
been required; but these, at the present time, 
Abrocomas, in his desire to hinder Cyrus from 
crossing, had been at pains to burn. Thus the 
passage was looked upon as a thing miraculous; 
the river had manifestly retired before the face 
of Cyrus, like a courtier bowing to his future 
king. From this place he continued his march 
through Syria nine stages—fifty parasangs— 
and they reached the river Araxes. Here were 
several villages full of corn and wine; in which 
they halted three days, and provisioned the 
army. 

V.—Thence he marched on through Arabia, 
keeping the Euphrates on the right, five desert 
stages—thirty-five parasangs. In this region 
the ground was one long level plain, stretching 
far and wide like the sea, full of absinth; whilst 


ANABASIS BOOK I 157 


all the other vegetation, whether wood or reed, 
was sweet scented like spice or sweet herb; there 
were no trees; but there was wild game of all 
kinds—wild asses in greatest abundance, with 
plenty of ostriches; besides these, there were 
bustards and antelopes. ‘These creatures were 
occasionally chased by the cavalry. The asses, 
when pursued, would run forward a space, and 
then stand still—their pace being much swifter 
than that of horses; and as soon as the horses 
came close, they went through the same perform- 
ance. The only way to catch them was for 
the riders to post themselves at intervals, and 
to hunt them in relays, as it were. The flesh of 
those captured was not unlike venison, only 
more tender. No one was lucky enough to cap- 
ture an ostrich. Some of the troopers did give 
chase, but it had soon to be abandoned; for the 
bird, in its effort to escape, speedily put a long 
interval between itself and its pursuers; plying 
its legs at full speed, and using its wings the 
while like a sail. The bustards were not so hard 
to catch when started suddenly; for they take 
only short flights, like partridges, and are soon 
tired. Their flesh is delicious. 

As the army wended its way through this re- 
gion, they reached the river Mascas, which is one 
hundred feet in breadth. Here stood a big de- 
serted city called Corsote, almost literally en- 
vironed by the stream, which flows round it in 


158 XENOPHON 


a circle. Here they halted three days and pro- 
visioned themselves. Hence they continued their 
march thirteen desert stages—ninety para-. 
sangs—with the Euphrates still on their right, 
until they reached the Gates. On these marches 
several of the baggage animals perished of hun- 
ger, for there was neither grass nor green herb, 
or tree of any sort; but the country throughout 
was barren. The inhabitants make their living 
by quarrying millstones on the river banks, which 
they work up and take to Babylon and sell, pur- 
chasing corn in exchange for their goods. Corn 
failed the army, and was not to be got for money, 
except in the Lydian market open in Cyrus’s 
Asiatic army; where a kapithe of wheat or bar- 
ley cost four shekels;’ the shekel being equal to 
seven and a half Attic obols, whilst the kapithe 
is the equivalent of two Attic cheenices,° dry 
measure, so that the soldiers subsisted on meat 
alone for the whole period. Some of the stages 
were very long, whenever they had to push on to 
find water or fodder; and once they found them- 
selves involved in a narrow way, where the deep 
clay presented an obstacle to the progress of the 
wagons. Cyrus, with the nobles about him, 
halted to superintend the operation, and or- 

7 Nearly $1.00. 

8 The chenix = about 1 quart (or, according to others, 14 
pints). It was the minimum allowance of corn for a man, say 


a slave, per diem. The Spartan was allowed at the public table 
2 cheenices a day. 


ANABASIS BOOK I 159 


dered Glus and Pigres to take a body of  bar- 
barians and to help in extricating the wagons. 
As they seemed to be slow about the business, 
he turned round angrily to the Persian nobles 
and bade them lend a hand to force the wagons 
out. Then, if ever, what goes to constitute one 
branch of good discipline, was to be witnessed. 
Each of those addressed, just where he chanced 
to be standing, threw off his purple cloak, and 
flung himself into the work with as much eager- 
ness as if it had been a charge for victory. 
Down a steep hill side they flew, with their 
costly tunics and embroidered trousers,—some 
with the circlets round their necks, and bracelets 
on their arms—in an instant, they had sprung 
into the miry clay, and in less time than one 
could have conceived, they had landed the 
wagons safe on terra firma. 

Altogether it was plain that Cyrus was bent 
on pressing on the march, and averse to stop- 
pages, except where he halted for the sake of 
provisioning or some other necessary object; 
being convinced that the more rapidly he ad- 
vanced, the less prepared for battle would he 
find the king; while the slower his own progress, 
the larger would be the hostile army which he 
would find collected. Indeed, the attentive ob- 
server could see, at a glance, that if the king’s 
empire was strong in its extent of territory and 
the number of inhabitants, that strength is com- 


160 XENOPHON 


pensated by an inherent weakness, dependent 
upon the length of roads and the inevitable dis- 
persion of defensive forces, where an invader 
insists upon pressing home the war by forced 
marches. 

On the opposite side of the Euphrates to the 
point reached on one of these desert stages, was 
a large and flourishing city named Charmande. 
From this town the soldiers made purchases of 
provisions, crossing the river on rafts, in the fol- 
lowing fashion: They took the skins which they 
used as tent coverings, and filled them with light 
grass; they then compressed and stitched them 
tightly together by the ends, so that the water 
might not touch the hay. On these they crossed 
and got provisions; wine made from the date- 
nut, and millet or panic-corn, the common staple 
of the country. Some dispute or other here oc- 
curred between the soldiers of Menon and Cle- 
archus, in which Clearchus sentenced one of 
Menon’s men, as the delinquent, and had him 
flogged. The man went back to his own divi- 
sion and told them. Hearing what had been 
done to their comrade, his fellows fretted and 
fumed, and were highly incensed against Cle- 
archus. The same day Clearchus visited the 
passage of the river, and after inspecting the 
market there, was returning with a few fol- 
lowers, on horseback, to his tent, and had to pass 
through Menon’s quarters. Cyrus had not yet 


ANABASIS BOOK I 161 


come up, but was riding up in the same direc- 
tion. One of Menon’s men, who was splitting 
wood, caught sight of Clearchus as he rode past, 
and aimed a blow at him with his axe. The aim 
took no effect; when another hurled a stone at 
him, and a third, and then several, with shouts 
and hisses. Clearchus made a rapid retreat to 
his own troops, and at once ordered them to get 
under arms. He bade his hoplites remain in 
position with their shields resting against their 
knees, while he, at the head of his Thracians and 
horsemen, of which he had more than forty in 
his army—Thracians for the most part—ad- 
vanced against Menon’s soldiers, so that the 
latter, with Menon himself, were panicstricken, 
and ran to seize their arms; some even stood 
riveted to the spot, in perplexity at the occur- 
rence. Just then Proxenus came up from be- 
hind, as chance would have it, with his division 
of hoplites, and without a moment’s hesitation 
marched into the open space between the rival 
parties, and grounded arms; then he fell to beg- 
ging Clearchus to desist. The latter was not 
too well pleased to hear his trouble mildly 
spoken of, when he had barely escaped being 
stoned to death; and he bade Proxenus retire 
and leave the intervening space open. At this 
juncture Cyrus arrived and inquired what was 
happening. There was no time for hesitation. 
With his javelins firmly grasped in his hands he 


162 XENOPHON 


galloped up,—escorted by some of his faithful 
bodyguard, who were present—and was soon in 
the midst, exclaiming: ‘“‘ Clearchus, Proxenus, 
and you other Hellenes yonder, you know not 
what you do. As surely as you come to blows 
with one another, our fate is sealed—this very 
day I shall be cut to pieces, and so will you: 
your turn will follow close on mine. Let our 
fortunes once take an evil turn, and these bar- 
barians whom you see around will be worse foes 
to us than those who are at present serving with 
the king.” At these words Clearchus came to 
his senses. Both parties paused from battle, and 
retired to their quarters: order reigned. 
VI.—As they advanced from this point (op- 
posite Charmande), they came upon the hoof- 
prints and dung of horses at frequent intervals. 
It looked like the trail of some two thousand 
horses. Keeping ahead of the army, these fel- 
lows burnt up the grass and everything else that 
was good for use. Now there was a Persian, 
named Orontas; he was closely related to the 
king by birth: and in matters pertaining to war 
reckoned among the best of Persian warriors. 
Having formerly been at war with Cyrus, and 
afterwards reconciled to him, he now made a 
conspiracy to destroy him. He made a proposal 
to Cyrus: if Cyrus would furnish him with a 
thousand horsemen, he would deal with these 
troopers, who were burning down everything in 


ANABASIS BOOK I 163 


front of them; he would lay an ambuscade and 
cut them down, or he would capture a host of 
them alive; in any case, he would put a stop to 
their aggressiveness and burnings; he would see 
to it that they did not ever get a chance of set- 
ting eyes on Cyrus’s army and reporting its ad- 
vent to the king. ‘The proposal seemed plaus- 
ible to Cyrus, who accordingly authorised Oron- 
tas to take a detachment from each of the gen- 
erals, and be gone. He, thinking that he had 
got his horsemen ready to his hand, wrote a let- 
ter to the king, announcing that he would ere 
long join him with as many troopers as he could 
bring; he bade him, at the same time, instruct 
the royal cavalry to welcome him on arrival as a 
friend. The letter further contained certain re- 
minders of his former friendship and fidelity. 
This despatch he delivered into the hands of 
one who was a trusty messenger, as he thought; 
but the bearer took and gave it to Cyrus. Cyrus 
read it. Orontas was arrested. Then Cyrus 
summoned to his tent seven of the noblest Per- 
sians among his personal attendants, and sent 
orders to the Hellenic generals to bring up a 
body of hoplites. These troops were to take up 
a position round his tent. This the generals 
did; bringing up about three thousand hoplites. 
Clearchus was also invited inside, to assist at the 
court-martial; a compliment due to the position 
he held among the other generals, in the opin- 


164 XENOPHON 


ion not only of Cyrus, but also of the rest of 
the court. When he came out, he reported the 
circumstances of the trial (as to which, indeed, 
there was no mystery) to his friends. He said 
that Cyrus opened the inquiry with these words: 
“T have invited you hither, my friends, that I 
may take advice with you, and carry out what- 
ever, in the sight of God and man, it is right for 
me to do, as concerning the man before you, 
Orontas. The prisoner was, in the first instance, 
given to me by my father, to be my faithful 
subject. In the next place, acting, to use his 
own words, under the orders of my brother, and 
having hold of the acropolis of Sardis, he went 
to war with me. I met war with war, and forced 
him to think it more prudent to desist from war 
with me: whereupon we shook hands, exchang- 
ing solemn pledges. After that,” and at this 
point Cyrus turned to Orontas, and addressed 
him personally,—“ after that, did I do you any 
wrong?” Answer, “Never.” Again, another 
question: “Then, later on, having received, as 
you admit, no injury from me, did you revolt to 
the Mysians and injure my territory, as far as 
in you lay? ”*—“I did,” was the reply. “Then, 
once more having discovered the limits of your 
power, did you flee to the altar of Artemis, cry- 
ing out that you repented? and did you thus 
work upon my feelings, that we a second time 
shook hands and made interchange of solemn 


ANABASIS BOOK I 165 


pledges? Are these things so?” Orontas again 
assented. “ Then what injury have you received 
from me,” Cyrus asked, “ that now, for the third 
time, you have been detected in a treasonous 
plot against me?”—‘“ No injury,” Orontas re- 
plied. And Cyrus asked once more: “ You 
plead guilty to having sinned against me? ”— 
“1 must needs do so,” he answered. Then Cy- 
rus put one more question: “ But the day may 
come, may it not, when you will once again be 
hostile to my brother, and a faithful friend to 


myself?” 'The other answered: “Even if I 
were, you could never be brought to believe it, 
Cyrus.” 


At this point Cyrus turned to those who were 
present and said: “Such has been the conduct 
of the prisoner in the past: such is his language 
now. I now call upon you, and you first, Cle- 
archus, to declare your opinion—what think 
you?” And Clearchus answered: “ My advice 
to you is to put this man out of the way as soon 
as may be, so that we may be saved the necessity 
of watching him, and have more leisure, as far 
as he is concerned, to requite the services of 
those whose friendship is sincere.”—‘“‘'To this 
opinion,” he told us, “the rest of the court ad- 
hered.” After that, at the bidding of Cyrus, 
each of those present, in turn, including the 
kinsmen of Orontas, took him by the girdle; 
which is as much as to say, “Let him die the 


166 XENOPHON 


death,” and then those appointed led him out; 
and they who in old days were wont to do obei- 
sance to him, could not refrain, even at that mo- 
ment, from bowing down before him, albeit they 
knew he was being led forth to death. 

After they had conducted him to the tent of 
Artapates, the trustiest of Cyrus’s wand- 
bearers, none set eyes upon him ever again, 
alive or dead. No one, of his own knowledge, 
could declare the manner of his death; though 
some conjectured one thing and some another. 
No tomb to mark his resting-place, either then 
or since, was ever seen. 

VII.—From this place Cyrus marched 
through Babylonia three stages—twelve para- 
sangs. Now, on the third stage, about mid- 
night, Cyrus held a review of the Hellenes and 
Asiatics in the plain, expecting that the king 
would arrive the following day with his army to 
offer battle. He gave orders to Clearchus to 
take command of the right wing, and to Menon 
the Thessalian of the left, while he himself 
undertook the disposition of his own forces in 
person. After this review, with the first ap- 
proach of day, deserters from the great king 
arrived, bringing Cyrus information about the 
royal army. ‘Then Cyrus summoned the gen- 
erals and captains of the Hellenes, and held a 
council of war to arrange the plan of battle. 
He took this opportunity also to address the 


ANABASIS BOOK I 167 


following words of compliment and encourage- 
ment to the meeting: “Men of Hellas,” he 
said, “it is certainly not from dearth of bar- 
barians to fight my battles that I put myself at 
your head as my allies; but because I hold you 
to be better and stronger than many barbarians. 
That is why I took you. See then that you 
prove yourselves to be men worthy of the lib- 
erty which you possess, and which I envy you. 
Liberty—it is a thing which, be well assured, I 
would choose in preference to all my other pos- 
sessions, multiplied many times. But I would 
like you to know into what sort of struggle you 
are going: learn its nature from one who knows. 
Their numbers are great, and they come on with 
much noise; but if you can hold out against 
these two things, I confess I am ashamed to 
think what a sorry set of folk you will find the 
inhabitants of this land to be. But you are 
men, and brave you must be, being men: it is 
agreed; then if you wish to return home, any of 
you, I undertake to send you back, in such sort 
that your friends at home shall envy you; but I 
flatter myself I shall persuade many of you to 
accept what I will offer you here, in lieu of what 
you left at home.” 

Here Gaulites, a Samian exile, and a trusty 
friend of Cyrus, being present, exclaimed: 
“Ay, Cyrus, but some say you can afford to 
make large promises now, because you are in 


168 XENOPHON 


the crisis of impending danger; but let matters 
go well with you, will you recollect? They shake 
their heads. Indeed, some add that, even if you 
did recollect, and were ever so willing, you 
would not be able to make good all your prom- 
ises, and repay.” When Cyrus heard that, he 
answered: “ You forget, sirs, my father’s em- 
pire stretches southwards to a region where men 
cannot dwell by reason of the heat, and north- 
wards to a region uninhabitable through cold; 
but all the intervening space is mapped out in 
satrapies belonging to my brother’s friends: so 
that if the victory be ours, it will be ours also 
to put our friends in possession in their room. 
On the whole my fear is, not that I may not 
have enough to give to each of my friends, but 
lest I may not have friends enough on whom to 
bestow what I have to give, and to each of you 
Hellenes I will give a crown of gold.” 

So they, when they heard these words, were 
more elated than ever themselves, and spread 
the good news among the rest outside. And 
there came into his presence both the generals 
and some of the other Hellenes also, claiming to 
know what they should have in the event of vic- 
tory; and Cyrus satisfied the expectation of each 
and all, and so dismissed them. Now the advice 
and admonition of all who came into conversa- 
tion with him was, not to enter the battle him- 
self, but to post himself in rear of themselves; 


ANABASIS BOOK I 169 


and at this season Clearchus put a question to 
him: “ But do you think that your brother will 
give battle to you, Cyrus?” and Cyrus an- 
swered: ‘‘ Not without a battle, be assured, 
shall the prize be won; if he be the son of Da- 
rius and Parysatis, and a brother of mine.” 

In the final arming for battle at this junc- 
ture, the numbers were as follows: Of Hel- 
lenes there were ten thousand four hundred 
heavy infantry with two thousand five hundred 
targeteers, while the barbarians with Cyrus 
reached a total of one hundred thousand. He 
had too about twenty scythe-chariots. ‘The en- 
emy’s forces were reported to number one mil- 
lion two hundred thousand, with two hundred 
scythe-chariots, besides which he had six thou- 
sand cavalry under Artagerses. These formed 
the immediate vanguard of the king himself. 
The royal army was marshalled by four gen- 
erals or field-marshals, each in command of 
three hundred thousand men. Their names were 
Abrocomas, Tissaphernes, Gobryas, and Ar- 
baces. (But of this total not more than nine 
hundred thousand were engaged in the battle, 
with one hundred and fifty scythe-chariots; 
since Abrocomas, on his march from Phoenicia, 
arrived five days too late for the battle.) Such 
was the information brought to Cyrus by de- 
serters who came in from the king’s army be- 
fore .the battle, and it was corroborated after 


170 XENOPHON 


the battle by those of the enemy who were taken 
prisoners. 

From this place Cyrus advanced one stage— 
three parasangs—with the whole body of his 
troops, Hellenic and barbarian alike, in order of 
battle. He expected the king to give battle the 
same day, for in the middle of this day’s march 
a deep sunk trench was reached, thirty feet 
broad, and eighteen feet deep. The trench was 
carried inland through the plain, twelve para- 
sangs distance, to the wall of Media. [Here 
are canals, flowing from the river Tigris; they 
are four in number, each a hundred feet broad, 
and very deep, with corn ships plying upon 
them; they empty themselves into the Euphra- 
tes, and are at intervals of one parasang apart, 
and are spanned by bridges. ] 

Between the Euphrates and the trench was a 
narrow passage, twenty feet only in breadth. 
The trench itself had been constructed by the 
great king upon hearing of Cyrus’s approach, 
to serve as a line of defence. Through this nar- 
row passage then Cyrus and his army passed, 
and found themselves safe inside the trench. So 
there was no battle to be fought with the king 
that day; only there were numerous unmistak- 
able traces of horse and infantry in retreat. Here 
Cyrus summoned Silanus, his Ambraciot sooth- 
sayer, and presented him with three thousand 
darics; because eleven days back, when sacrific- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 171 


ing, he had told him that the king would not 
fight within ten days, and Cyrus had answered: 
“Well, then, if he does not fight within that 
time, he will not fight at all; and if your proph- 
ecy comes true, I promise you ten talents.” So 
now, that the ten days were passed, he presented 
him with the above sum. 

But as the king had failed to hinder the pass- 
age of Cyrus’s army at the trench, Cyrus him- 
self and the rest concluded that he must have 
abandoned the idea of offering battle, so that 
next day Cyrus advanced with less than his for- 
mer caution. On the third day he was conduct- 
ing the march, seated in his carriage, with only 
a small body of troops drawn up in front of 
him. The mass of the army was moving on in 
no kind of order: the soldiers having consigned 
their heavy arms to be carried in the wagons or 
on the backs of beasts. 

VIII.—It was already about full market 
time’ and the halting-place at which the army 
was to take up quarters was nearly reached, 
when Pategyas, a Persian, a trusty member of 
Cyrus’s personal staff, came galloping up at 
full speed on his horse, which was bathed in 
sweat, and to every one he met he shouted in 
Greek and Persian, as fast as he could ejacu- 
late the words: “The king is advancing with. a 
large army ready for battle.’ Then ensued a 


91, e., between 9 and 10 a. m. 


172 XENOPHON . 


scene of wild confusion. The Hellenes and all 
alike were expecting to be attacked on the in- 
stant, and before they could form their lines. 
Cyrus sprang from his carriage and donned his 
corselet; then leaping on to his charger’s back, 
with the javelins firmly clutched, he passed the 
order to the rest, to arm themselves and fall into 
their several ranks. 

The orders were carried out with alacrity; the 
ranks shaped themselves. Clearchus held the 
right wing resting on the Euphrates, Proxenus 
was next, and after him the rest, while Menon 
with his troops held the Hellenic left. Of the 
Asiatics, a body of Paphlagonian cavalry, one 
thousand strong, were posted beside Clearchus 
on the right, and with them stood the Hellenic 
peltasts. On the left was Arizus, Cyrus’s sec- 
ond in command, and the rest of the barbarian 
host. Cyrus was with his bodyguard of cavalry 
about six hundred strong, all armed with corse- 
lets like Cyrus, and cuisses and helmets; but not 
so Cyrus: he went into battle with head unhel- 
meted. So too all the horses with Cyrus wore 
forehead-pieces and _ breast-pieces, and _ the 
troopers carried short Hellenic swords. 

It was now mid-day, and the enemy was not 
yet in sight; but with the approach of after- 
noon was seen dust like a white cloud, and after 
a considerable interval a black pall as it were 
spread far and high over the plain. As they 


ANABASIS BOOK I 173 


came nearer, very soon was seen here and there 
a glint of bronze and spear-points; and the 
ranks could plainly be distinguished. On the 
left were troopers wearing white cuirasses. 
That is Tissaphernes in command, they said, 
and next to these a body of men bearing wicker- 
shields, and next again heavy-armed infantry, 
with long wooden shields reaching to the feet. 
These were the Egyptians, they said, and then 
other cavalry, other bowmen; all were in na- 
tional divisions, each nation marching in densely- 
crowded squares. And all along their front was 
a line of chariots at considerable intervals from 
one another,—the famous scythe-chariots, as 
they were named,—having their scythes fitted to 
the axle-trees and stretching out slantwise, while 
others protruded under the chariot seats, facing 
the ground, so as to cut through all they encoun- 
tered. The design was to let them dash full 
speed into the ranks of the Hellenes and cut 
them through. 

Curiously enough the anticipation of Cyrus, 
when at the council of war he admonished the 
Hellenes not to mind the shouting of the Asi- 
atics, was not justified. Instead of shouting, 
they came on in deep silence, softly and slowly, 
with even tread. At this instant, Cyrus, riding 
past in person, accompanied by Pigres, his inter- 
preter, and three or four others, called aloud to 
Clearchus to advance against the enemy’s cen- 


174 XENOPHON 


tre, for there the king was to be found: “And 
if we strike home at this point,” he added, “ our 
work is finished.” Clearchus, though he could 
see the compact body at the centre, and had been 
told by Cyrus that the king lay outside the Hel- 
lenic left (for, owing to numerical superiority, 
the king, while holding his own centre, could 
well overlap Cyrus’s extreme left), still hesi- 
tated to draw off his right wing from the river, 
for fear of being turned on both flanks; and he 
simply replied, assuring Cyrus that he would 
take care all went well. 

At this time the barbarian army was evenly 
advancing, and the Hellenic division was still 
riveted to the spot, completing its formation as 
the various contingents came up. Cyrus, riding 
past at some distance from the lines, glanced his 
eye first in one direction and then in the other, 
so as to take a complete survey of friends and 
foes; when Xenophon the Athenian, seeing him, 
rode up from the Hellenic quarter to meet him, 
asking whether he had any orders to give. Cy- 
rus, pulling up his horse, begged him to make 
the announcement generally known that the 
omens from the victims, internal and external 
alike, were good. While he was still speaking, 
he heard a confused murmur passing through 
the ranks, and asked what it meant. The other 
replied that it was the watchword being passed 
down for the second time. Cyrus wondered who 


ANABASIS BOOK I 175 


had given the order, and asked what the watch- 
word was. On being told it was “Zeus our 
Saviour and Victory,” he replied, “I accept it; 
so let it be,” and with that remark rode away to 
his own position. And now the two battle lines 
were no more than three or four furlongs apart, 
when the Hellenes began chanting the pean 
and at the same time advanced against the 
enemy. 

But with the forward movement a certain 
portion of the line curved onwards in advance, 
with wave-like sinuosity, and the portion left 
behind quickened to a run; and simultaneously a 
thrilling cry burst from all lips, like that in hon- 
our of the war-god—eleleu! eleleu! and the run- 
ning became general. Some say they clashed 
their shields and spears, thereby causing terror 
to the horses; and before they had got within 
arrowshot the barbarians swerved and took to 
flight. And now the Hellenes gave chase with 
might and main, checked only by shouts to one 
another not to race, but to keep their ranks. 
The enemy’s chariots, reft of their charioteers, 
swept onwards, some through the enemy them- 
selves, others past the Hellenes. They, as they 
saw them coming, opened a gap and let them 
pass. One fellow, like some dumbfoundered 
mortal on a race-course, was caught by the 
heels, but even he, they said, received no hurt; 
nor indeed, with the single exception of some 


176 XENOPHON 


one on the left wing who was said to have been 
wounded by an arrow, did any Hellene in this 
battle suffer a single hurt. 

Cyrus, seeing the Hellenes conquering, as far 
as they at any rate were concerned, and in hot 
pursuit, was well content; but in spite of his joy 
and the salutations offered him at that moment 
by those about him, as though he were already 
king, he was not led away to join in the pursuit, 
but keeping his squadron of six hundred horse- 
men in close order, waited and watched to see 
what the king himself would do. The king, he 
knew, held the centre of the Persian army. In- 
deed it is the fashion for the Asiatic monarch to 
occupy that position during action, for this two- 
fold reason: he holds the safest place, with his 
troops on either side of him, while, if he has 
occasion to despatch any necessary order along 
the lines, his troops will receive the message in 
half the time. The king accordingly on this 
occasion held the centre of his army, but for all 
that, he was outside Cyrus’s left wing; and see- 
ing that no one offered him battle in front, nor 
yet the troops in front of him, he wheeled as if 
to encircle the enemy. It was then that Cyrus, 
in apprehension lest the king might get round 
to the rear and cut to pieces the Hellenic body, 
charged to meet him. Attacking with his six 
hundred, he mastered the line of troops in front 
of the king, and put to flight the six thousand, 


ANABASIS BOOK I UT 


cutting down, as is said, with his own hand their 
general, Artagerses. 

But as soon as the rout commenced, Cyrus’s 
own six hundred themselves, in the ardour of 
pursuit, were scattered, with the exception of a 
handful who were left with Cyrus himself— 
chiefly his table companions, so-called. Left 
alone with these, he caught sight of the king 
and the close throng about him. Unable longer 
to contain himself, with a cry, “I see the man,” 
he rushed at him and dealt a blow at his chest, 
wounding him through the corselet. This, ac- 
cording to the statement of Ctesias the surgeon, 
who further states that he himself healed the 
wound. As Cyrus delivered the blow, some one 
struck him with a javelin under the eye severely; 
and in the struggle which then ensued between 
the king and Cyrus and those about them to 


protect one or other, we have the statement of 
-Ctesias as to the number slain on the king’s side, 


for he was by his side. On the other, Cyrus him- 
self fell, and eight of his bravest companions 
lay on the top of him. ‘The story says that Ar- 
tapates, the trustiest esquire among his wand- 
bearers, when he saw that Cyrus had fallen to 
the ground, leapt from his horse and threw his 
arms about him. Then, as one account says, the 
king bade one slay him as a worthy victim to 
his brother: others say that Artapates drew his 


scimitar and slew himself by his own hand. A 


178 XENOPHON 


golden scimitar, it is true, he had; he wore also 
a collar and bracelets and the other ornaments 
such as the noblest Persians wear; for his kindli- 
ness and fidelity had won him honours at the 
hands of Cyrus. 

IX.—So died Cyrus; a man the kingliest ἢ 
and most worthy to rule of all the Persians who 
have lived since the elder Cyrus: according to 
the concurrent testimony of all who are reputed 
to have known him intimately. To begin from 
the beginning, when still a boy, and whilst being 
brought up with his brother and the other lads, 
his unrivalled excellence was recognised. For 
the sons of the noblest Persians, it must be 
known, are brought up, one and all, at the king’s 
portals. Here lessons of sobriety and self-con- 
trol may largely be laid to heart, while there is 
nothing base or ugly for eye or ear to feed upon. 
There is the daily spectacle ever before the boys 
of some receiving honour from the king, and 
again of others receiving dishonour; and the 
tale of all this is in their ears, so that from earli- 
est boyhood they learn how to rule and to be 
Tuled. 

In this courtly training Cyrus earned a double 
reputation; first he was held to be a paragon of 
modesty among his fellows, rendering an obedi- 
ence to his elders which exceeded that of many 


1The character now to be drawn is afterwards elaborated 
into the Cyrus of the Cyropedeia, 


ANABASIS BOOK I 179 


of his own inferiors; and next he bore away the 
palm for skill in horsemanship and for love of 
the animal itself. Nor less in matters of war, 
in the use of the bow and the javelin, was he 
held by men in general to be at once the aptest 
of learners and the most eager practiser. As 
soon as his age permitted, the same pre-eminence 
showed itself in his fondness for the chase, not 
without a certain appetite for perilous adven- 
ture in facing the wild beasts themselves. Once 
a bear made a furious rush at him, and without 
wincing he grappled with her, and was pulled 
from his horse, receiving wounds the scars of 
which were visible through life; but in the end 
he slew the creature, nor did he forget him who 
first came to his aid, but made him enviable in 
the eyes of many. 

After he had been sent down by his father to 
be satrap of Lydia and Great Phrygia and 
Cappadocia, and had been appointed general of 
the forces, whose business it is to muster in the 
plain of the Castolus, nothing was more notice- 
able in his conduct than the importance which 
he attached to the faithful fulfilment of every 
treaty or compact or undertaking entered into 
with others. He would tell no lies to any one. 
Thus doubtless it was that he won the confidence 
alike of individuals and of the communities en- 
trusted to his care; or in case of hostility, a 
treaty made with Cyrus was a guarantee suffi- 


: 
. 


| 
| 
) 


180 XENOPHON 


cient to the combatant that he would suffer 
nothing contrary to its terms. ‘Therefore, in 
the war with Tissaphernes, all the states of their 
own accord chose Cyrus in lieu of Tissaphernes, 
except only the men of Miletus, and these were 
only alienated through fear of him, because he 
refused to abandon their exiled citizens; and his 
deeds and words bore emphatic witness to his 
principle: even if they were weakened in num- 
ber or in fortune, he would never abandon those 
who had once become his friends, 

He made no secret of his endeavour to outdo 
his friends and his foes alike in reciprocity of 
conduct. ‘The prayer has been attributed to 
him, “God grant I may live long enough to 
recompense my friends and requite my foes 
with a strong arm.” However this may be, no 
one, at least in our days, ever drew together so 
ardent a following of friends, eager to lay at 
his feet their money, their cities, their own lives 
and persons; nor is it to be inferred from this 
that he suffered the malefactor and the wrong- 
doer to laugh him to scorn; on the contrary, 
these he punished most unflinchingly. It was no 
rare sight to see on the well-trodden highways, 
men who had forfeited hand or foot or eye; the 
result being that throughout the satrapy of Cy- 
rus any one, Hellene or barbarian, provided he 
were innocent, might fearlessly travel wherever 
he pleased, and take with him whatever he felt 


ANABASIS BOOK I 181 


disposed. However, as all allowed, it was for 
the brave in war that he reserved especial hon- 
our. ‘To take the first instance to hand, he had 
a war with the Pisidians and Mysians. Being 
himself at the head of an expedition into those 
territories, he could observe those who volun- 
tarily encountered risks; these he made rulers of 
the territory which he subjected, and afterwards 
honoured them with other gifts. So that, if the 
good and brave were set on a pinnacle of for- 
tune, cowards were recognised as their natural 
slaves; and so it befell that Cyrus never had 
lack of volunteers in any service of danger, 
whenever it was expected that his eye would be 
upon them. 

So again, wherever he might discover any 
one ready to distinguish himself in the service 
of uprightness, his delight was to make this man 
richer than those who seek for gain by unfair 
means. On the same principle, his own admin- 
istration was in all respects uprightly conducted, 
and, in particular, he secured the services of an 
army worthy of the name. Generals, and sub- 
alterns alike, came to him from across the seas, 
not merely to make money, but because they saw 
that loyalty to Cyrus was a more profitable in- 
vestment than so many pounds a month. Let 
any man whatsoever render him willing service, 
such enthusiasm was sure to win its reward. And 
so Cyrus could always command the service of 


182 XENOPHON 


the best assistants, it was said, whatever the 
work might be. 

Or if he saw any skilful and just steward who 
furnished well the country over which he ruled, 
and created revenues, so far from robbing him 
at any time, to him who had, he delighted to 
give more. So that toil was a pleasure, and 
gains were amassed with confidence, and least of 
all from Cyrus would a man conceal the amount 
of his possessions, seeing that he showed no jeal- 
ousy of wealth openly avowed, but his endeav- 
our was rather to turn to account the riches 
of those who kept them secret. ‘Towards the — 
friends he had made, whose kindliness he knew, 
or whose fitness as fellow-workers with himself, 
in aught which he might wish to carry out, he 
had tested, he showed himself in turn an adept 
in the arts of courtesy. Just in proportion as 
he felt the need of this friend or that to help 
him, so he tried to help each of them in 
return in whatever seemed to be their heart’s 
desire. 

Many were the gifts bestowed on him, for 
many and diverse reasons; no one man, per- 
haps, ever received more; no one, certainly, was 
ever more ready to bestow them on others, with 
an eye ever to the taste of each, so as to gratify 
what he saw to be the individual requirement. 
Many of these presents were sent to him to serve 
as personal adornments of the body or for bat- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 183 


tle; and as touching these he would say, 
“How am I to deck myself out in all these? 
to my mind a man’s chief ornament is the adorn- 
ment of nobly-adorned friends.” Indeed, that 
he should triumph over his friends in the great 
matters of welldoing is not surprising, seeing 
that he was much more powerful than they, but 
that he should go beyond them in minute atten- 
tions, and in an eager desire to give pleasure, 
seems to me, I must confess, more admirable. 
Frequently when he had tasted some specially 
excellent wine, he would send the half remaining 
flagon to some friend with a message to say: 
“Cyrus says, this is the best wine he has tasted 
for a long time, that is his excuse for sending 
it to you. He hopes you will drink it up to-day 
with a choice party of friends.” Or, perhaps, 
he would send the remainder of a dish of geese, 
half loaves of bread, and so forth, the bearer 
being instructed to say: “This is Cyrus’s fa- 
vourite dish, he hopes you will taste it yourself.” 
Or, perhaps, there was a great dearth of prov- 
ender, when, through the number of his serv- 
ants and his own careful forethought, he was 
enabled to get supplies for himself; at such 
times he would send to his friends in different 
parts, bidding them feed their horses on his hay, 
since it would not do for the horses that carried 
his friends to go starving. Then, on any long 
march or expedition, when the crowd of 


184 XENOPHON 


lookers-on would be large, he would call his 
friends to him and entertain them with serious 
talk, as much as to say, “ These I delight to 
honour.” 

So that, for myself, and from all that I can 
hear, I should be disposed to say that no one, 
Greek or barbarian, was ever so beloved. In 
proof of this, I may cite the fact that, though 
Cyrus was the king’s vassal and slave, no one 
ever forsook him to join his master, if I may 
except the attempt of Orontas, which was abor- 
tive. That man, indeed, had to learn that Cy- 
rus was closer to the heart of him on whose fidel- 
ity he relied than he himself was. On the other 
hand, many a man revolted from the king to 
Cyrus, after they went to war with one another; 
nor were these nobodies, but rather persons high 
in the king’s affection; yet for all that, they be- 
lieved that their virtues would obtain a reward 
more adequate from Cyrus than from the king. 
Another great proof at once of his own worth 
and of his capacity rightly to discern ‘all loyal, 
loving, and firm friendship is afforded by an in- 
cident which belongs to the last moment of his 
life. He was slain, but fighting for his life be- 
side him fell also every one of his faithful body- 
guard of friends and table-companions, with 
the sole exception of Arizus, who was in com- 
mand of the cavalry on the left, and he no 
sooner perceived the fall of Cyrus than he be- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 185 


took himself to flight, with the whole body of 
troops under his lead, 

X.—Then the head of Cyrus and his right 
hand were severed from the body. But the king 
and those about him pursued and fell upon the 
Cyreian camp, and the troops of Arius no 
longer stood their ground, but fled through 
their own camp back to the halting-place of the 
night before—a distance of four parasangs, it 
was said. So the king and those with him fell 
to ravaging right and left, and amongst other 
spoil he captured the Phocean woman, who was 
a concubine of Cyrus, witty and beautiful, if 
fame speaks correctly. The Milesian, who was 
the younger, was also seized by some of the 
king’s men; but, letting go her outer garment, 
she made good her escape to the Hellenes, who 
had been left among the camp followers on 
guard. These fell at once into line and put to 
the sword many of the pillagers, though they 
lost some men themselves; they stuck to the 
place and succeeded in saving not only that 
lady, but all else, whether chattels or human 
beings, which lay within their reach. 

At this point the king and the Hellenes were 
something like three miles apart; the one set 
were pursuing their opponents just as if their 
conquest had been general; the others were pil- 
Jaging as merrily as if their victory were already 
universal. But when the Hellenes learnt that 


186 XENOPHON 


the king and his troops were in the baggage 
camp; and the king, on his side, was informed 
by Tissaphernes that the Hellenes were victori- 
ous in their quarter of the field, and had gone 
forward in pursuit, the effect was instanta- 
neous. The king massed his troops and formed 
into line. Clearchus summoned Proxenus, who 
was next him, and debated whether to send a 
detachment or to go in a body to the camp to 
save it. 

Meanwhile the king was seen again advanc- 
ing, as it seemed, from the rear; and the Hel- 
lenes, turning right about, prepared to receive 
his attack then and there. But, instead of ad- 
vancing upon them at that point, he drew off, 
following the line by which he had passed earlier 
in the day, outside the left wing of his oppo- 
nent, and so picked up in his passage those who 
had deserted to the Hellenes during the battle, 
as also Tissaphernes and his division. The lat- 
ter had not fled in the first shock of the en- 
counter; he had charged parallel to the line of 
the Euphrates into the Greek peltasts, and 
through them. But charge as he might, he did 
not lay low a single man. On the contrary, the 
Hellenes made a gap to let them through, hack- 
ing them with their swords and hurling their 
javelins as they passed. Episthenes of Amphip- 
olis was in command of the peltasts, and he 
showed himself a sensible man, it was said. Thus 


ANABASIS BOOK I 187 


it was that Tissaphernes, having got through 
haphazard, with rather the worst of it, failed to 
wheel round and return the way he came, but 
reaching the camp of the Hellenes, there fell in 
with the king; and falling into order again, the 
two divisions advanced side by side. 

When they were parallel with the (original) 
left wing of the Hellenes, fear seized the latter 
lest they might take them in flank and enfold 
them on both sides and cut them down. In this 
apprehension. they determined to extend their 
line and place the river on their rear. But while 
they deliberated, the king passed by and ranged 
his troops in line to meet them, in exactly the 
same position in which he had advanced to offer 
battle at the commencement of the engagement. 
The Hellenes, now seeing them in close prox- 
imity and in battle order, once again raised the 
pean and began the attack with still greater en- 
thusiasm than before: and once again the bar- 
barians did not wait to receive them, but took 
to flight, even at a greater distance than before. 
The Hellenes pressed the pursuit until they 
reached a certain village, where they halted, for 
above the village rose a mound, on which the 
king and his party rallied and reformed; they 
had no infantry any longer, but the crest was 
crowded with cavalry, so that it was impossible 
to discover what was happening. ‘They did see, 
they said, the royal standard, a kind of golden 


188 XENOPHON 


eagle, with wings extended, perched on a bar of 
wood and raised upon a lance. 

But as soon as the Hellenes again moved on- 
wards, the hostile cavalry at once left the hil- 
lock—not in a body any longer, but in frag- 
ments—some streaming from one side, some 
from another; and the crest was gradually 
stripped of its occupants, till at last the com- 
pany was gone. Accordingly, Clearchus did not 
ascend the crest, but posting his army at its base, 
he sent Lycius of Syracuse and another to the 
summit, with orders to inspect the condition of 
things on the other side, and to report results. 
Lycius galloped up and investigated, bringing 
back news that they were fleeing might and 
main. Almost at that instant the sun sank be- 
neath the horizon. ‘There the Hellenes halted; 
they grounded arms and rested, marvelling the 
while that Cyrus was not anywhere to be seen, 
and that no messenger had come from him, For 
they were in complete ignorance of his death, 
and conjectured that either he had gone off in 
pursuit, or had pushed forward to occupy some 
point. Left to themselves, they now deliberated, 
whether they should stay where they were and 
have the baggage train brought up, or should 
return to camp. They resolved to return, and 
about supper time reached the tents. Such was 
the conclusion of this day. 

They found the larger portion of their prop- 


ANABASIS BOOK I 189 


erty pillaged, eatables and drinkables alike, not 
excepting the wagons laden with corn and wine, 
which Cyrus had prepared in case of some ex- 
treme need overtaking the expedition, to divide 
among the Hellenes. There were four hundred 
of these wagons, it was said, and these had now 
been ransacked by the king and his men; so 
that the greater number of the Hellenes went 
supperless, having already gone without their 
breakfasts, since the king had appeared before 
the usual halt for breakfast. Accordingly, in 
no better plight than this they passed the night. 


ANABASIS 


BOOK II 


ITH the break of day the generals 
met, and were surprised that Cyrus 
should not have appeared himself, 


or at any rate have sent some one to tell them 
what to do. Accordingly, they resolved to put 
what they had together, to get under arms, and 
to push forward until they effected junction 
with Cyrus. Just as they were on the point of 
starting, with the rismg sun came Procles the 
ruler of Teuthrania. He was a descendant of 
Demaratus’? the Laconian, and with him also 
came Glus the son of Tamos. These two told 
them, first, that Cyrus was dead; next, that 
Arizus had retreated with the rest of the bar- 
barians to the halting-place whence they had 
started at dawn on the previous day; and wished 
to inform them that, if they were minded to 
come, he would wait for this one day, but on the 
morrow he should return home again to Ionia, 
whence he came. 

When they heard these tidings, the generals 


1 The Spartan king who was deposed in 8. c. 491, whereupon 
he fled to King Darius, and settled in southwestern Mysia. We 
shall hear more of his descendant, Procles, the ruler of Teu- 
thrania, in the last chapter of this work. 


190 


ANABASIS . 
- BOOK ΤΙ wes: Ἢ 7 


Ws the break of day the αὶ 
met, and were surprised that Cy 

should not have appeared h en 
or at any rate have sent some one to 
what to do, Accordingly, they resolved: top 


ἌΣ 


what they had ra aml to get under muri 
to push f til 
with C ᾿ς ἫΝ ‘Oracle o of Bel 
From an. yi ae ry pGe 
vol Steel Engraving bye. “Hirehe beta 0 ν, 
Demara πταξέεπηᾳ, Rainting byathotith him also 
came Glus the son of Tamos. These two told 
them, first. that Cyrus was dead; next, 
Arviwus had retreated with the rest of the 
barians to the halting-place whence they I 
started et dawn on the previous day; and wi 
to inform them that, if they were minded ὁ 
come, he would wait for this one day, but one 
morrow he should return home —_ to. 
whence he came. 
When they heard these tidings, tie 9 


1 The Spartan king who was deposed in 5, σ 491, 
he fled to King Darius, and settled in southwestern Mysia. 
shall hear more of his descendant, Procles, the ruler of T 
thrania, in the last chapter of this work, 


190 


ae 


5 Ἄν 4 ἔς. 


ANABASIS BOOK II 191 


were sorely distressed; so too were the rest of 
the Hellenes when they were informed of it. 
Then Clearchus spoke as follows: “ Would that 
Cyrus were yet alive! But since he is dead, take 
back this answer to Arizus, that we, at any rate, 
have conquered the king; and, as you yourselves 
may see, there is not a man left in the field to 
meet us. Indeed, had you not arrived, we should 
ere this have begun our march upon the king. 
Now, we can promise to Arizus that, if he will 
join us here, we will place him on the king’s 
throne. Surely to those who conquer empire 
pertains.” With these words he sent back the 
messengers, and with them he sent Cheirisophus 
the Laconian, and Menon the Thessalian. That 
was what Menon himself wished, being, as he 
was, a friend and intimate of Arizus, and bound 
by mutual ties of hospitality. So these set off, 
and Clearchus waited for them. 

The soldiers furnished themselves with food 
[and drink] as best they might—falling back on 
the baggage animals, and cutting up oxen and 
asses. There was no lack of firewood; they need 
only step forward a few paces from the line 
where the battle was fought, and they would 
find arrows to hand in abundance, which the 
Hellenes had forced the deserters from the king 
to throw away. There were arrows and wicker 
shields also, and the huge wooden shields of the 
Egyptians. There were many targets also, and 


192 XENOPHON 


empty wagons left to be carried off. Here was 
a store which they were not slow to make use of 
to cook their meat and serve their meals that 
day. 

It was now about full market hour when her- 
alds from the king and Tissaphernes arrived. 
These were barbarians with one exception. This 
was a certain Phalinus, a Hellene who lived at 
the court of Tissaphernes, and was held in high 
esteem. He gave himself out to be a connois- 
seur of tactics and the art of fighting with heavy 
arms. ‘These were the men who now came up, 
and having summoned the generals of the Hel- 
lenes, they delivered themselves of the following 
message: “ The great king having won the vic- 
tory and slain Cyrus, bids the Hellenes to sur- 
render their arms; to betake themselves to the 
gates of the king’s palace, and there obtain for 
themselves what terms they can.” That was 
what the heralds said, and the Hellenes listened 
with heavy hearts; but Clearchus spoke, and his 
words were few: “Conquerors do not, as a 
rule, give up their arms;” then turning to the 
others he added, “I leave it to you, my fellow- 
generals, to make the best and noblest answer, 
that ye may, to these gentlemen. I will rejoin 
you presently.” At the moment an official had 
summoned him to come and look at the entrails 
which had been taken out, for, as it chanced, he 
was engaged in sacrificing. As soon as he was 


ANABASIS BOOK II 193 


gone, Cleanor the Arcadian, by right of senior- 
ity, answered: “'They would sooner die than 
give up their arms.” ‘Then Proxenus the The- 
ban said: ‘For my part, I marvel if the king 
demands our arms as our master, or for the sake 
of friendship merely, as presents. If as our 
master, why need he ask for them rather than 
come and take them? But if he would fain 
wheedle us out of them by fine speeches, he 
should tell us what the soldiers will receive in 
return for such kindness.” In answer to him 
Phalinus said: “ The king claims to have con- 
quered, because he has put Cyrus to death; and 
who is there now to claim the kingdom as against 
himself? He further flatters himself that you 
also are in his power, since he holds you in the 
heart of his country, hemmed in by impassable 
rivers; and he can at any moment bring against 
you a multitude so vast that even if leave 
were given to rise and slay you could not kill 
them.” . After him Theopompus? the Athenian 
spoke. “ Phalinus,” he said, “at this instant, as 
you yourself can see, we have nothing left but 
our arms and our valour. If we keep the for- 
mer we imagine we can make use of the latter; 
but if we deliver up our arms we shall presently 


2So the best MSS. Others read “ Xenophon,” which Kriiger 
maintains to be the true reading. He suggests that Theopom- 
pus may have crept into the text from a marginal note of a 
scholiast, “'Theopompus” (the historian) “ gives the remark to 
Proxenus.” 


194 XENOPHON 


be robbed of our lives. Do not suppose then 
that we are going to give up to you the only 
good things which we possess. We prefer to 
keep them; and by their help we will do battle 
with you for the good things which are yours.” 
Phalinus laughed when he heard those words, 
and said: “Spoken like a philosopher, my fine 
young man, and very pretty reasoning too; yet, 
let me tell you, your wits are somewhat scat- 
tered if you imagine that your valour will get 
the better of the king’s power.” There were 
one or two others, it was said, who with a touch 
of weakness in their tone or argument, made 
answer: “‘They had proved good and trusty 
friends to Cyrus, and the king might find them 
no less valuable. If he liked to be friends with 
them, he might turn them to any use that pleased 
his fancy, say for a campaign against Egypt. 
Their arms were at his service; they would help 
to lay that country at his feet.” 

Just then Clearchus returned, and wished to 
know what answer they had given. The words 
were barely out of his mouth before Phalinus, 
interrupting, answered: “As for your friends 
here, one says one thing and one another; will 
you please give us your opinion;” and he re- 
plied: “The sight of you, Phalinus, caused me 
much pleasure; and not only me, but all of us, 
I feel sure; for you are a Hellene even as we 
are—every one of us whom you see before you. 


ANABASIS BOOK II 195 


In our present plight we would like to take you 
into our counsel as to what we had better do 
touching your proposals. I beg you then sol- 
emnly, in the sight of heaven,—do you tender us 
such advice as you shall deem best and worthi- 
est, and such as shall bring you honour in after 
time, when it will be said of you how once on a 
time Phalinus was sent by the great king to bid 
certain Hellenes yield up their arms, and when 
they had taken him into their counsel, he gave 
them such and such advice. You know that 
whatever advice you do give us cannot fail to 
be reported in Hellas.” 

Clearchus threw out these leading remarks in 
hopes that this man, who was the ambassador 
from the king, might himself be led to advise 
them not to give up their arms, in which case 
the Hellenes would be still more sanguine and 
hopeful. But, contrary to his expectation, Pha- 
linus turned round and said: “1 say that if 
you have one chance, one hope in ten thousand 
to wage a war with the king successfully, do not 
give up your arms. ‘That is my advice. If, 
however, you have no chance of escape without 
the king’s consent, then I say save yourselves in 
the only way you can.” And Clearchus an- 
swered: “So, then, that is your deliberate 
view? Well, this is our answer, take it back. 
We conceive that in either case, whether we are 
expected to be friends with the king, we shall 


196 XENOPHON 


be worth more as friends if we keep our arms 
than if we yield them to another; or whether we 
are to go to war, we shall fight better with them 
than without.” And Phalinus said: “That an- 
swer we will repeat; but the king bade me tell 
you this besides, ‘ Whilst you remain here there 
is truce; but one step forward or one step back, 
the truce ends; there is war.’ Will you then 
please inform us as to that point also? Are you 
minded to stop and keep truce, or is there to be 
war? What answer shall I take from you?” 
And Clearchus replied: ‘“ Pray answer that we 
hold precisely the same views on this point as 
the king.” —“‘ How say you the same views?” 
asked Phalinus. Clearchus made answer: “As 
long as we stay here there is truce, but a step 
forward or a step backward, the truce ends; 
there is war.” The other again asked: “ Peace 
or war, what answer shall I make?” Clearchus 
returned answer once again in the same words: 
“Truce if we stop, but if we move forwards or 
backwards war.” But what he was minded 
really to do, that he refused to make further 
manifest. 

IJ.—Phalinus and those that were with him 
turned and went. But the messengers from 
Arieus, Procles, and Cheirisophus came back. 
As to Menon, he stayed behind with Arizus. 
They brought back this answer from Arieus: 
“There are many Persians,’ he says, ‘ better 


ANABASIS BOOK 11 197 


than himself who will not suffer him to sit upon 
the king’s throne; but if you are minded to go 
back with him, you must join him this very 
night, otherwise he will set off himself to-mor- 
row on the homeward route.” And Clearchus 
said: “It had best stand thus between us then. 
If we come, well and good, be it as you pro- 
pose; but if we do not come, do whatsoever you 
think most conducive to your interests.” And 
so he kept these also in the dark as to his real 
intention. 

After this, when the sun was already sinking, 
he summoned the generals and officers, and 
made the following statement: ‘Sirs, I sacri- 
ficed and found the victims unfavourable to an 
advance against the king. After all, it is not so 
surprising perhaps, for, as I now learn, between 
us and the king flows the river Tigris, navigable 
for big vessels, and we could not possibly cross 
it without boats, and boats we have none. On 
the other hand, to stop here is out of the ques- 
tion, for there is no possibility of getting provi- 
sions. However, the victims were quite agree- 
able to our joining the friends of Cyrus. This 
is what we must do then. Let each go away and 
sup on whatever he has. At the first sound of 
the bugle to turn in, get kit and baggage to- 
gether; at the second signal, place them on the 
baggage animals; and at the third, fall in and 
follow the lead, with the baggage animals on 


198 XENOPHON 


the inside protected by the river, and the troops 
outside.” After hearing the orders, the gen- 
erals and officers retired and did as they were 
bid; and for the future Clearchus led, and the 
rest followed in obedience to his orders, not that 
they had expressly chosen him, but they saw 
that he alone had the sense and wisdom requi- 
site in a general, while the rest were inexperi- 
enced. 

Here, under cover of the darkness which de- 
scended, the Thracian Miltocythes, with forty 
horsemen and three hundred Thracian infantry, 
deserted to the king; but the rest of the troops— 
Clearchus leading and the rest following in 
accordance with the orders promulgated—took 
their departure, and about midnight reached 
their first stage, having come up with Arizeus 
and his army. They grounded arms just as 
they stood in rank, and the generals and officers 
of the Hellenes met in the tent of Arieus. 
There they exchanged oaths—the Hellenes on 
the one side and Arizus with his principal of- 
ficers on the other—not to betray one another, 
but to be true to each other as allies. The Asi- 
atics further solemnly pledged themselves by 
oath to lead the way without treachery. The 
oaths were ratified by the sacrifice of a bull, a 
wolf, a boar, and a ram over a shield. The Hel- 
lenes dipped a sword, the barbarians a lance, 
into the blood of the victims. 


ANABASIS BOOK II 199 


As soon as the pledge was taken, Clearchus 
spoke: ‘And now, Arius,” he said, “since 
you and we have one expedition in prospect, will 
you tell us what you think about the route; shall 
we return the way we came, or have you devised 
a better?” He answered: “To return the 
same way is to perish to a man by hunger; for 
at this moment we have no provisions whatso- 
ever. During the seventeen last stages, even on 
our way hither, we could extract nothing from 
the country; or, if there was now and again any- 
thing, we passed over and utterly consumed it. 
At this time our project is to take another and 
a longer journey certainly, but we shall not be 
in straits for provisions. The earliest stages 
must be very long, as long as we can make 
them; the object is to put as large a space as 
possible between us and the royal army; once 
we are two or three days’ journey off, the dan- 
ger is over. The king will never overtake us. 
With a small army he will not dare to dog our 
heels, and with a vast equipment he will lack the 
power to march quickly. Perhaps he, too, may 
even find a scarcity of provisions. There,” said 
he, “you asked for my opinion, see, I have 
given it.” 

Here was a plan of the campaign, which was 
equivalent to a stampede: helter-skelter they 
were to run away, or get into hiding somehow; 
but fortune proved a better general. For as 


200 XENOPHON 


soon as it was day they recommenced the jour- 
ney, keeping the sun on their right, and calcu- 
lating that with the westering rays they would 
have reached villages in the territory of Baby- 
lonia, and in this hope they were not deceived. 
While it was yet afternoon, they thought they 
caught sight of some of the enemy’s cavalry; 
and those of the Hellenes who were not in rank 
ran to their ranks; and Arizus, who was riding 
in a wagon to nurse a wound, got down and 
donned his cuirass, the rest of his party follow- 
ing his example. Whilst they were arming 
themselves, the scouts, who had been sent for- 
ward, came back with the information that they 
were not cavalry but baggage animals grazing. 
It was at once clear to all that they must be 
somewhere in the neighbourhood of the king’s 
encampment. Smoke could actually be seen ris- 
ing, evidently from villages not far ahead. 
Clearchus hesitated to advance upon the enemy, 
knowing that the troops were tired and hun- 
gry; and indeed it was already late. On the 
other hand he had no mind either to swerve from 
his route—guarding against any appearance of 
flight. Accordingly he marched straight as an 
arrow, and with sunset entered the nearest vil- 
lages with his vanguard and took up quarters. 

These villages had been thoroughly sacked 
and dismantled by the royal army—down to the 
very woodwork and furniture of the houses. 


ANABASIS BOOK II 201 


Still, the vanguard contrived to take up their 
quarters in some sort of fashion; but the rear 
division, coming up in the dark, had to bivouac 
as best they could, one detachment after an- 
other; and a great noise they made, with hue 
and cry to one another, so that the enemy could 
hear them; and those in their immediate prox- 
imity actually took to their heels, left their 
quarters, and decamped, as was plain enough 
next morning, when not a beast was to be seen, 
nor sign of camp or wreath of smoke anywhere 
in the neighbourhood. The king, as it would 
appear, was himself quite taken aback by the 
advent of the army; as he fully showed by his 
proceedings next day. 

During the progress of this night the Hel- 
lenes had their turn of scare,—a panic seized 
them, and there was a noise and clatter, hardly 
to be explained except by the visitation of some 
sudden terror. But Clearchus had with him the 
Eleian Tolmides, the best herald of his time; 
him he ordered to proclaim silence, and then to 
give out this proclamation of the generals: 
“Whoever will give any information as to who 
let an ass into the camp shall receive a talent 
of silver in reward.” On hearing this procla- 
mation the soldiers made up their minds that 
their fear was baseless, and their generals safe 
and sound. At break of day Clearchus gave 
the order to the Hellenes to get under arms in 


202 XENOPHON 


line of battle, and take up exactly the same po- 
sition as they held on the day of the battle. 

I1I.—And now comes the proof of what I 
stated above—that the king was utterly taken 
aback by the sudden apparition of the army; 
only the day before, he had sent and demanded 
the surrender of their arms—and now, with the 
rising sun, came heralds sent by him to arrange 
a truce. ‘These, having reached the advanced 
guard, asked for the generals. The guard re- 
ported their arrival; and Clearchus, who was 
busy inspecting the ranks, sent back word to the 
heralds that they must await his leisure. Hav- 
ing carefully arranged the troops so that from 
every side they might present the appearance of 
a compact battle line without a single unarmed 
man in sight, he summoned the ambassadors, 
and himself went forward to meet them with the 
soldiers, who for choice accoutrement and noble 
aspect were the flower of his force; a course 
which he had invited the other generals also to 
adopt. 

And now, being face to face with the ambas- 
sadors, he questioned them as to what their 
wishes were. They replied that they had come 
to arrange a truce, and were persons competent 
to carry proposals from the king to the Hel- 
lenes and from the Hellenes to the king. He 
returned answer to them: “Take back word 
then to your master, that we need a battle first, 


ANABASIS BOOK II 208 


for we have had no breakfast; and he will be a 
brave man who will dare mention the word 


‘truce’ to Hellenes without providing them 
with breakfast.” With this message the her- 


alds rode off, but were back again in no time, 
which was a proof that the king, or some one 
appointed by him to transact the business, was 
hard by. They reported that “the message 
seemed reasonable to the king; they had now 
come bringing guides who, if a truce were ar- 
ranged, would conduct them where they would 
get provisions.” Clearchus inquired “whether 
the truce, marched after them with his army in 
merely as they went and came, or to all alike.” 
“To all,” they replied, “until the king receives 
your final answer.” When they had so spoken, 
Clearchus, having removed the ambassadors, 
held a council; and it was resolved to make a 
truce at once, and then quietly to go and secure 
provisions; and Clearchus said: “I agree to 
the resolution; still I do not propose to an- 
nounce it at once, but to wile away time till the 
ambassadors begin to fear that we have decided 
against the truce; though I suspect,” he added, 
“the same fear will be operative on the minds 
of our soldiers also.” As soon as the right mo- 
ment seemed to have arrived, he delivered his 
answer in favour of the truce, and bade the am- 
bassadors at once conduct them to the provi- 
sions. 


204 XENOPHON 


So these led the way; and Clearchus, without 
relaxing precaution, in spite of having secured 
the truce was offered to the individual men 
line and himself in command of the rearguard. 
Over and over again they encountered trenches 
and conduits so full of water that they could 
not be crossed without bridges; but they con- 
trived well enough for these by means of trunks 
of palm trees which had fallen, or which they 
cut down for the occasion. And here Clear- 
chus’s system of superintendence was a study in 
itself; as he stood with a spear in his left hand 
and a stick in the other; and when it seemed to 
him there was any dawdling among the parties 
told off to the work, he would pick out the right 
man and down would come the stick; nor, at the 
same time, was he above plunging into the mud 
and lending a hand himself, so that every one 
else was forced for very shame to display equal 
alacrity. ‘The men told off for the business 
were the men of thirty years of age; but even 
the elder men, when they saw the energy of 
Clearchus, could not resist lending their aid also. 
What stimulated the haste of Clearchus was the 
suspicion in his mind that these trenches were 
not, as a rule, so full of water, since it was not 
the season to irrigate the plain; and he fancied 
that the king had let the water on for the ex- 
press purpose of vividly presenting to the Hel- 
lenes the many dangers with which their march 
was threatened at the very start. 


ANABASIS BOOK II 205 


Proceeding on their way they reached some 
villages, where their guides indicated to them 
that they would find provisions. They were 
found to contain plenty of corn, and wine made 
from palm dates, and an acidulated beverage 
extracted by boiling from the same fruit. As 
to the palm nuts or dates themselves, it was no- 
ticeable that the sort which we are accustomed 
to see in Hellas were set aside for the domestic 
servants; those put aside for the masters are 
picked specimens, and are simply marvellous 
for their beauty and size, looking like great 
golden lumps of amber; some specimens they 
dried and preserved as sweetmeats. Sweet 
enough they were as an accompaniment of 
wine, but apt to give headache. Here, too, for 
the first time in their lives, the men tasted the 
brain of the palm. No one could help being 
struck by the beauty of this object, and the pe- 
culiarity of its delicious flavour; but this, like 
the dried fruits, was exceedingly apt to give 
headache. When this cabbage or brain has been 
removed from the palm the whole tree withers 
from top to bottom. 

In these villages they remained three days, 
and a deputation from the great king arrived— 
Tissaphernes and the king’s brother-in-law and 
three other Persians—with a retinue of many 
slaves. As soon as the generals of the Hel- 
lenes had presented themselves, Tissaphernes 
opened the proceedings with the following 


206 XENOPHON 


speech, through the lips of an interpreter: 
“ Men of Hellas, I am your next-door neigh- 
bour in Hellas. Therefore was it that I, when 
I saw into what a sea of troubles you were 
fallen, regarded it as a godsend, if by any 
means I might obtain, as a boon from the king, 
the privilege of bringing you back in safety to 
your own country: and that, I take it, will earn 
me gratitude from you and all Hellas. In this 
determination I preferred my request to the 
king; I claimed it as a favour which was fairly 
my due; for was it not I who first announced 
to him the hostile approach of Cyrus? who sup- 
ported that announcement by the aid I brought; 
who alone among the officers confronted with 
the Hellenes in battle did not flee, but charged 
right through and united my troops with the 
king inside your camp, where he was arrived, 
having slain Cyrus; it was I, lastly, who gave 
chase to the barbarians under Cyrus, with the 
help of those here present with me at this mo- 
ment, which also are among the trustiest fol- 
lowers of our lord the king. On hearing my 
proposals, he promised me to deliberate, and he 
bade me come, to ask you for what cause you 
marched against him. Now, I counsel you to 
give a moderate answer, so that it may be easier 
for me to carry out my design, if haply I may 
obtain from him some good thing in your be- 
halts? 


ANABASIS BOOK II 207 


Thereupon the Hellenes retired and took 
counsel. Then they answered, and Clearchus 
was their spokesman: “ We neither mustered 
as a body to make war against the king, nor was 
our march conducted with that object. But it 
was Cyrus, as you know, who invented many 
and divers pretexts, that he might take you off 
your guard, and transport us hither. Yet, after 
a while, when we saw that he was in sore straits, 
we were ashamed in the sight of God and man 
to betray him, whom we had permitted for so 
long a season to benefit us. But now that Cy- 
rus is dead, we set up no claim to his kingdom 
against the king himself; there is neither person 
nor thing for the sake of which we would care 
to injure the king’s country; we would not 
choose to kill him if we could, rather we would 
march straight home, if we were not molested; 
but, God helping us, we will retaliate on all 
who injure us. On the other hand, if any be 
found to benefit us, we do not mean to be out- 
done in kindly deeds, as far as in us lies.” 

So he spoke, and Tissaphernes listened and 
replied: “That answer will I take back to the 
king and bring you word from him again. Un- 
til I come again, let the truce continue, and we 
will furnish you with a market.” All next day 
he did not come back, and the Hellenes were 
troubled with anxieties, but on the third day 
he arrived with the news that he had obtained 


208 XENOPHON 


from the king the boon he asked; he was per- 
mitted to save the Hellenes, though there were 
many gainsayers who argued that it was not 
seemly for the king to let those who had marched 
against him depart in peace. And at last he 
said: “ You may now, if you like, take pledges 
from us, that we will make the countries through 
which you pass friendly to you, and will lead 
you back without treachery into Hellas, and will 
furnish you with a market; and wherever you 
cannot purchase, we will permit you to take pro- 
visions from the district. You, on your side, 
must swear that you will march as through a 
friendly country, without damage—merely 
taking food and drink wherever we fail to sup- 
ply a market—or, if we afford a market, you 
shall only obtain provisions by paying for them.” 
This was agreed to, and oaths and pledges ex- 
changed between them—Tissaphernes and the 
king’s brother-in-law upon the one side, and the 
generals and officers of the Hellenes on the 
other. After this Tissaphernes said: “ And 
now I go back to the king; as soon as I have 
transacted what I have a mind to, I will come 
back, ready equipped, to lead you away to Hel- 
las, and to return myself to my own dominion.” 

IV.—After these things the Hellenes and 
Arizus waited for Tissaphernes, being en- 
camped close to one another: for more than 
twenty days they waited, during which time 


ANABASIS BOOK II 209 


there came visitors to Arius, his brother and 
other kinsfolk. ‘To those under him came cer- 
tain other Persians, encouraging them and bear- 
ing pledges to some of them from the king 
himself—that he would bear no grudge against 
them on account of the part they bore in the 
expedition against him with Cyrus, or for aught 
else of the things which were past. Whilst these 
overtures were being made, Arius and _ his 
friends gave manifest signs of paying less at- 
tention to the Hellenes, so much so that, if for 
no other reason, the majority of the latter were 
not well pleased, and they came to Clearchus and 
the other generals, asking what they were wait- 
ing for. “Do we not know full well,” they said, 
“that the king would give a great deal to de- 
stroy us, so that other Hellenes may take warn- 
ing and think twice before they march against 
the king. To-day it suits his purpose to induce 
us to stop here, because his army is scattered; 
but as soon as he has got together another ar- 
mament, attack us most certainly he will. How 
do we know he is not at this moment digging 
away at trenches, or running up walls, to make 
our path impassable. It is not to be supposed 
that he will desire us to return to Hellas with a 
tale how a handful of men like ourselves beat 
the king at his own gates, laughed him to scorn, 
and then came home again.” Clearchus replied: 
“1 too am keenly aware of all this; but I reason 


210 XENOPHON 


thus: if we turn our backs now, they will say, we 
mean war and are acting contrary to the truce, 
and then what follows? First of all, no one 
will furnish us with a market or means of pro- 
viding ourselves with food. Next, we shall have 
no one to guide us; moreover, such action on . 
our part will be a signal to Arieus to hold aloof 
from us, so that not a friend will be left to us; 
even those who were formerly our friends will 
now be numbered with our enemies. What 
other river, or rivers, we may find we have to 
cross, I do not know; but this we know, to cross 
the Euphrates in face of resistance is impossible. 
You see, in the event of being driven to an 
engagement we have no cavalry to help us, but 
with the enemy it is the reverse—not only the 
most, but the best of his troops are cavalry, so 
that if we are victorious, we shall kill no one, 
but if we are defeated, not a man of us can 
escape. For my part, I cannot see why the 
king, who has so many advantages on his side, 
if he desires to destroy us, should swear oaths 
and tender solemn pledges merely in order to 
perjure himself in the sight of heaven, to ren- 
der his word worthless and his credit discred- 
itable the wide world over.” ‘These arguments 
he propounded at length. 

Meanwhile Tissaphernes came back, appar- 
ently ready to return home; he had his own 
force with him, and so had Orontas, who was 


ANABASIS BOOK II 211 


also present, his. The latter brought, moreover, 
his bride with him, the king’s daughter, whom 
he had just wedded. The journey was now at 
length fairly commenced. 'Tissaphernes led the 
way, and provided a market. They advanced, 
and Ariwus advanced too, at the head of Cy- 
rus’s Asiatic troops, side by side with Tissa- 
phernes and Orontas, and with these two he also 
pitched his camp. The Hellenes, holding them 
in suspicion, marched separately with the guides, 
and they encamped on each occasion a parasang 
apart, or rather less; and both parties kept watch 
upon each other as if they were enemies, which 
hardly tended to lull suspicion; and sometimes, 
whilst foraging for wood and grass and so forth 
on the same ground, blows were exchanged, 
which occasioned further embitterments. Three 
stages they had accomplished ere they reached 
the wall of Media, as it is called, and passed 
within it. It was built of baked bricks laid upon 
bitumen. It was twenty feet broad and a hun- 
dred feet high, and the length of it was said to 
be twenty parasangs.’ It lies at no great dis- 
tance from Babylon. 

From this point they marched two stages— 
eight parasangs—and crossed two canals, the 
first by a regular bridge, the other spanned by 

8 Τ, e., taking the parasang as = 30 stades, nearly 34 English 


miles, or nearly 3 geographical miles, the wall was nearly 70 
miles long. 


212 XENOPHON 


a bridge of seven boats. ‘These canals issued 
from the Tigris, and from them a whole sys- 
tem of minor trenches was cut, leading over the 
country, large ones to begin with, and then 
smaller and smaller, till at last they become the 
merest runnels, like those in Hellas used for 
watering millet fields. ‘They reached the river 
Tigris. At this point there was a large and 
thickly populated city named Sittace, at a dis- 
tance of fifteen furlongs from the river. The 
Hellenes accordingly encamped by the side of 
that city, near a large and beautiful park, which 
was thick with all sorts of trees. 

The Asiatics now crossed the Tigris, but 
somehow were entirely hidden from view. After 
supper, Proxenus and Xenophon were walking 
in front of the place d’armes, when a man came 
up and demanded of the advanced guard where 
he could find Proxenus or Clearchus. He did 
not ask for Menon, and that too though he came 
from Arizus, who was Menon’s friend. As 
soon as Proxenus had said: “1 am he, whom 
you seek,” the man replied: “I have been sent 
by Arizus and Artaozus, who have been trusty 
friends to Cyrus in past days, and are your 
well-wishers. They warn you to be on your 
guard, in case the barbarians attack you in the 
night. There is a large body of troops in the 
neighbouring park. They also warn you to send 
and occupy the bridge over the Tigris, since Tis- 


ANABASIS BOOK II 213 


saphernes is minded to break it down in the 
night, if he can, so that you may not cross, but 
be caught between the river and the canal.” On 
hearing this they took the man to Clearchus and 
acquainted him with his statement. Clearchus, 
on his side, was much disturbed, and indeed 
alarmed at the news. But a young fellow who 
was present,* struck with an idea, suggested that 
the two statements were inconsistent; as to the 
contemplated attack and the proposed destruc- 
tion of the bridge. Clearly, the attacking party 
must either conquer or be worsted: if they con- 
quer, what need of their breaking down the 
bridge? “Why! if there were half a dozen 
bridges,” said he, “we should not be any the 
more able to save ourselves by flight—there 
would be no place to flee to; but, in the opposite 
case, suppose we win, with the bridge broken 
down, it is they who will not be able to save 
themselves by flight; and, what is worse for 
them, not a single soul will be able to bring them 
succour from the other side, for all their num- 
bers, since the bridge will be broken down.” 
Clearchus listened to the reasoning, and then 
he asked the messenger, ‘‘ How large the coun- 
try between the Tigris and the canal might be?” 
“A large district,” he replied, “and in it are 
villages and cities numerous and large.” 'Then 
it dawned upon them: the barbarians had sent 


4 Possibly Xenophon himself. 


214. XENOPHON 


the man with subtlety, in fear lest the Hellenes 
should cut the bridge and occupy the island ter- 
ritory, with the strong defences of the Tigris 
on the one side and of the canal on the other; 
supplying themselves with provisions from the 
country so included, large and rich as it was, 
with no lack of hands to till it; in addition to 
which, a harbour of refuge and asylum would 
be found for any one, who was minded to do 
the king a mischief. 

After this they retired to rest in peace, not, 
however, neglecting to send a guard to occupy 
the bridge in spite of all; but nothing happened, 
and there was no attack from any quarter what- 
soever; nor did any of the enemy’s people ap- 
proach the bridges: so the guards were able to 
report next morning. But as soon as it was 
morning, they proceeded to cross the bridge, 
which consisted of thirty-seven vessels, and in 
so doing they used the utmost precaution pos- 
sible; for reports were brought by some of the 
Hellenes with Tissaphernes that an attempt was 
to be made to attack them while crossing. All 
this turned out to be false, though it is true 
that while crossing they did catch sight of Glus 
watching, with some others, to see if they crossed 
the river; but as soon as he had satisfied himself 
on that point, he rode off and was gone. 

From the river Tigris they advanced four 
stages—twenty parasangs—to the river Phys- 


ANABASIS BOOK II 215 


cus, which is a hundred feet broad and spanned 
by a bridge. Here lay a large and populous city 
named Opis, close to which the Hellenes were 
encountered by the natural brother of Cyrus 
and Artaxerxes, who was leading a large army 
from Susa and Ecbatana to assist the king. He 
halted his troops and watched the Hellenes 
march past. Clearchus led them in column two 
abreast: and from time to time he marched and 
from time to time he halted. But every time 
the vanguard came to a standstill, just so often 
and just so long the effect repeated itself down, 
to the hindmost man: halt! halt! halt! along the 
whole line: so that even to the Hellenes them- 
selves their army seemed enormous; and the 
Persian was fairly astonished at the spectacle. 
From this place they marched through Media 
six desert stages—thirty parasangs—to the vil- 
lages of Parysatis, Cyrus’s and the king’s mother. 
These Tissaphernes, in mockery of Cyrus, de- 
livered over to the Hellenes to plunder, except 
that the folk in them were not to be made slaves. 
They contained much corn, cattle, and other 
property. From this place they advanced four 
desert stages—twenty parasangs—keeping the 
Tigris on the left. On the first of these stages, 
on the other side of the river, lay a large city; 
it was a well-to-do place named Cenex, from 
which the natives used to carry across loaves and 
cheeses and wine on rafts made of skins. 


216 XENOPHON 


V.—After this they reached the river Zapatas, 
which is four hundred feet broad, and here they 
halted three days. During the interval sus- 
picions were rife, though no act of treachery 
displayed itself. Clearchus accordingly resolved 
to seek an interview with Tissaphernes, and if 
possible to bring to an end these feelings of mis- 
trust, before they led to war. Consequently, he 
sent a messenger to the Persian to say that he 
desired an interview with him; to which the other 
readily consented. As soon as they were met, 
Clearchus spoke as follows: “ 'Tissaphernes,” 
he said, “I do not forget that oaths have been 
exchanged between us, and right hands shaken, 
in token that we will abstain from mutual in- 
jury; but I can see that you watch us narrowly, 
as if we were foes; and we, seeing this, watch 
you narrowly in return. But as I fail to dis- 
cover, after investigation, that you are en- 
deavouring to do us a mischief—and I am quite 
sure that nothing of the sort has ever entered 
our heads with regard to you—the best plan 
seemed to me to come and talk the matter over 
with you, so that, if possible, we might dispel 
the mutual distrust on either side. For I have 
known people ere now, the victims in some cases 
of calumny, or possibly of mere suspicion, who 
in apprehension of one another and eager to 
deal the first blow, have committed irreparable 
wrong against those who neither intended nor 


ANABASIS BOOK II 217 


so much as harboured a thought of mischief 
against them. I have come to you under a con- 
viction that such misunderstandings may best 
be put a stop to by personal intercourse, and 
I wish to instruct you plainly that you are 
wrong in mistrusting us. The first and weighti- 
est reason is that the oaths, which we took in the 
sight of heaven, are a barrier to mutual hos- 
tility. I envy not the man whose conscience tells 
him that he has disregarded these! For in a 
war with heaven, by what swiftness of foot can 
a man escape?—in what quarter find refuge ?— 
in what darkness slink away and be hid?—to 
what strong fortress scale and be out of reach? 
Are not all things in all ways subject to the 
gods? is not their lordship over all alike out- 
spread? As touching the gods, therefore, and 
our oaths, that is how I view this matter. To 
their safe keeping we consigned the friendship 
which we solemnly contracted. But turning to 
matters human, you I look upon as our greatest 
blessing in this present time. With you every 
path is plain to us, every river passable, and of 
provisions we shall know no stint. But without 
you, all our way is through darkness; fer we 
know nothing concerning it, every river will be 
an obstacle, each multitude a terror; but, worst 
terror of all, the vast wilderness, so full of end- 
less perplexity. Nay, if in a fit of madness we 
murdered you, what then? in slaying our bene- 


218 XENOPHON 


factor should we not have challenged to enter 
the lists against us a more formidable antago- 
nist in the king himself? Let me tell you, how 
many high hopes I should rob myself of, were 
I to take in hand to do you mischief. 

“T coveted the friendship of Cyrus; I be- 
lieved him to be abler than any man of his day 
to benefit those whom he chose; but to-day I 
look and, behold, it is you who are in his place; 
the power which belonged to Cyrus and his ter- 
ritory are yours now. You have them, and your 
own satrapy besides, safe and sound; while the 
king’s power, which was a thorn in the side of 
Cyrus, is your support. This being so, it would 
be madness not to wish to be your friend. But 
I will go further and state to you the reasons of 
my confidence, that you on your side will desire 
our friendship. I know that the Mysians are a 
cause of trouble to you, and I flatter myself 
that with my present force I could render them 
humbly obedient to you. ‘This applies to the 
Pisidians also; and I am told there are many 
other such tribes besides. I think I can deal with 
them all; they shall cease from being a constant 
disturbance to your peace and prosperity. Then 
there are the Egyptians. I know your anger 
against them to-day is very great. Nor can I 
see what better force you will find to help you 
in chastising them than this which marches at 
my back to-day. Again, if you seek the friend- 


ANABASIS BOOK II 219 


ship of any of your neighbours round, there 
shall be no friend so great as you; if any one 
annoys you, with us as your faithful servitors 
you shall belord it over him; and such service 
will we render you, not as hirelings merely for 
pay’s sake, but for the gratitude which we shall 
rightly feel to you, to whom we owe our lives. 
As I dwell on these matters, I confess, the idea 
of your feeling mistrust of us is so astonishing, 
that I would give much to discover the name - 
of the man, who is so clever of speech that he 
can persuade you that we harbour designs 
against you.” Clearchus ended, and ‘Tissa- 
phernes responded thus: 

“T am glad, Clearchus, to listen to your sen- 
sible remarks; for with the sentiments you hold, 
if you were to devise any mischief against me, 
it could only be out of malevolence to yourself. 
But if you imagine that you, on your side, 
have any better reason to mistrust the king and 
me, than we you, listen to me in turn, and 1 will 
undeceive you. I ask you, does it seem to you 
that we lack the means, if we had the will, to 
destroy you? have we not horsemen enough, or 
infantry, or whatever other arm you like, 
whereby we may be able to injure you, without 
risk of suffering in return? or, possibly, do we 
seem to you to lack the physical surroundings 
suitable for attacking you? Do you not see all 
these great plains, which you find it hard enough 


220 XENOPHON 


to traverse even when they are friendly? and 
all yonder great mountain chains left for you to 
cross, which we can at any time occupy in ad- 
vance and render impassable? and all those 
rivers, on whose banks we can deal craftily by 
you, checking and controlling and choosing the 
right number of you whom we care to fight! 
Nay, there are some which you will not be able 
to cross at all, unless we transport you to the 
other side. 

“And if at all these points we were worsted, 
yet ‘ fire,’ as they say, ‘is stronger than the fruit 
of the field:’ we can burn it down and call up 
famine in arms against you; against which you, 
for all your bravery, will never be able to con- 
tend. Why then, with all these avenues of at- 
tack, this machinery of war, open to us, not one 
of which can be turned against ourselves, why 
should we select from among them all that 
method, which alone in the sight of God is im- 
pious and of man abominable? Surely it be- 
longs to people altogether without resources, 
who are helplessly struggling in the toils of 
fate, and are villains to boot, to seek ac- 
complishment of their desires by perjury to 
heaven and faithlessness to their fellows. We 
are not so unreasoning, Clearchus, nor so 
foolish. 

“Why, when we had it in our power to de- 
stroy you, did we not proceed to do it? Know | 


ANABASIS BOOK II 221 


well that the cause of this was nothing less than 
my passion to prove myself faithful to the Hel- 
lenes, and that, as Cyrus went up, relying on a 
foreign force attracted by payment, I in turn 
might go down strong in the same through serv- 
ice rendered. Various ways in which you Hel- 
lenes may be useful to me you yourself have 
mentioned, but there is one still greater. It is 
the king’s privilege alone to wear the tiara up- 
right upon his head, yet in your presence it may 
be given to another mortal to wear it upright, 
here, upon his heart.” 

Throughout this speech he seemed to Clear- 
chus to be speaking the truth, and he rejoined: 
“Then are not those worthy of the worst penal- 
ties who, in spite of all that exists to cement our 
friendship, endeavour by slander to make us en- 
emies?” “Even so,” replied ‘'Tissaphernes, 
“and if your generals and captains care to come 
in some open and public way, I will name to you 
those who tell me that you are plotting against 
me and the army under me.” “Good,” replied 
Clearchus. “1 will bring all, and I will show 
you, on my side, the source from which I derive 
my information concerning you.” 

After this conversation Tissaphernes, with 
kindliest expressions, invited Clearchus to re- 
main with him at the time, and entertained him 
at dinner. Next day Clearchus returned to the 
camp, and made no secret of his persuasion that 


222 XENOPHON 


he at any rate stood high in the affections of 
Tissaphernes, and he reported what he had said, 
insisting that those invited ought to go to Tis- 
saphernes, and that any Hellene convicted of 
calumnious language ought to be punished, not 
only as traitors themselves, but as disaffected 
to their fellow-countrymen. The slanderer and 
traducer was Menon; so, at any rate, he sus- 
pected, because he knew that he had had meet- 
ings with Tissaphernes whilst he was with 
Arizus, and was factiously opposed to himself, 
plotting how to win over the whole army to him, 
as a means of winning the good graces of Tissa- 
phernes. But Clearchus wanted the entire army 
to give its mind to no one else, and that refrac- 
tory people should be put out of the way. Some 
of the soldiers protested: the captains and gen- 
erals had better not all go; it was better not to 
put too much confidence in Tissaphernes. But 
Clearchus insisted so strongly that finally it was 
arranged for five generals to go and twenty 
captains. These were accompanied by about 
two hundred of the other soldiers, who took the 
opportunity of marketing. 

On arrival at the doors of Tissaphernes’s 
quarters the generals were summoned inside. 
They were Proxenus the Beotian, Menon the 
Thessalian, Agias the Arcadian, Clearchus the 
Laconian, and Socrates the Achzan; while the 
captains remained at the doors, Not long after, 


ANABASIS BOOK II 223 


at one and the same signal, those within were 
seized and those without cut down; after which 
some of the barbarian horsemen galloped over 
the plain, killing every Hellene they encoun- 
tered, bond or free. ‘The Hellenes, as they 
looked from the camp, viewed that strange 
horsemanship with surprise, and could not ex- 
plain to themselves what it all meant, until Ni- 
carchus the Arcadian came tearing along for 
bare life with a wound in the belly, and clutch- 
ing his protruding entrails in his hands. He 
told them all that had happened. Instantly the 
Hellenes ran to their arms, one and all, in utter 
consternation, and fully expecting that the en- 
emy would instantly be down upon the camp. 
However, they did not all come: only Arius 
came, and Artaozus and Mithridates, who were 
Cyrus’s most faithful friends; but the interpre- 
ter of the Hellenes said he saw and recognised 
the brother of Tissaphernes also with them. 
They had at their back other Persians also, 
armed with cuirasses, as many as three hundred. 
As soon as they were within a short distance, 
they bade any general or captain of the Hellenes 
who might be there to approach and hear a mes- 
sage from the king. After this, two Hellene 
generals went out with all precaution. These 
were Cleanor the Orchomenian, and Sophene- 
tus the Stymphalian, attended by Xenophon the 
Athenian, who went to learn news of Proxenus. 


224 XENOPHON 


Cheirisophus was at the time away in a village 
with a party getting provisions. As soon as 
they had halted within earshot, Arizus said: 
“ Hellenes, Clearchus being shown to have com- 
mitted perjury and to have broken the truce, has 
suffered the penalty, and he is dead; but Proxe- 
nus and Menon, in return for having given in- 
formation of his treachery, are in high esteem 
and honour. As to yourselves, the king demands 
your arms. He claims them as his, since they 
belonged to Cyrus, who was his slave.” ΤῸ this 
the Hellenes made answer by the mouth of 
Cleanor of Orchomenus, their spokesman, who 
said, addressing Arieus: “Thou villain, 
Arizus, and you the rest of you, who were Cy- 
rus’s friends, have you no shame before God or 
man, first to swear to us you would have the 
same friends and the same enemies as we our- 
selves, and then to turn and betray us, making 
common cause with Tissaphernes, that most im- 
pious and villainous of men? With him you 
have murdered the very men to whom you gave 
your solemn word and oath, and to the rest of 
us turned traitors; and, having so done, you 
join hand with our enemies to come against us.” 
Arizus answered: “There is no doubt but that 
Clearchus has been known for some time to har- 
bour designs against Tissaphernes and Oron- 
tas, and all of us who side with them.” Taking 
up this assertion, Xenophon said: “ Well, then, 


ANABASIS BOOK II 225 


granting that Clearchus broke the truce con- 
trary to our oaths, he has his deserts, for per- 
jurers deserve to perish; but where are Proxe- 
nus and Menon, our generals and your good 
friends and benefactors, as you admit? Send 
them back to us. Surely, just because they are 
friends of both parties, they will try to give the 
best advice for you and for us.” 

At this, the Asiatics stood discussing with one 
another for a long while, and then they went 
away without vouchsafing a word. 

VI.—The generals who were thus seized were 
taken up to the king and there decapitated. The 
first of these, Clearchus, was a thorough soldier, 
and a true lover of fighting. This is the testi- 
mony of all who knew him intimately. As long 
as the war between the Lacedemonians and 
Athenians lasted, he could find occupation at 
home; but after the peace, he persuaded his own 
city that the Thracians were injuring the Hel- 
lenes, and having secured his object, set sail, 
empowered by the ephorate to make war upon 
the Thracians north of the Chersonese and 
Perinthus. But he had no sooner fairly started 
than, for some reason or other, the ephors 
changed their minds, and endeavoured to bring 
him back again from the isthmus. ‘Thereupon 
he refused further obedience, and went off with 
sails set for the Hellespont. In consequence 
he was condemned to death by the Spartan au- 


226 XENOPHON 


thorities for disobedience to orders; and now, 
finding himself an exile, he came to Cyrus. 
Working on the feelings of that prince, in lan- 
guage described elsewhere, he received from his 
entertainer a present of ten thousand darics. 
Having got this money, he did not sink into a 
life of ease and indolence, but collected an 
army with it, carried on war against the Thra- 
cians, and conquered them in battle, and from 
that date onwards harried and plundered them 
with war incessantly, until Cyrus wanted his 
army; whereupon he at once went off, in hopes 
of finding another sphere of warfare in his com- 
pany. 

These, I take it, were the characteristic acts of 
a man whose affections are set on warfare. 
When it is open to him to enjoy peace with 
honour, no shame, no injury attached, still he 
prefers war; when he may live at home at ease, 
he insists on toil, if only it may end in fighting; 
when it is given to him to keep his riches with- 
out risk, he would rather lessen his fortune by 
the pastime of battle. To put it briefly, war 
was his mistress; just as another man will spend 
his fortune on a favourite, or to gratify some 
pleasure, so he chose to squander his substance 
on soldiering. 

But if the life of a soldier was a passion with 
him, he was none the less a soldier born, as herein 
appears; danger was a delight to him; he courted 


ANABASIS BOOK II 227 


it, attacking the enemy by night or by day; and 
in difficulties he did not lose his head, as all who 
ever served in a campaign with him would with 
one consent allow. A good soldier! the ques- 
tion arises, Was he equally good as a comman- 
der? It must be admitted that, as far as was 
compatible with his quality of temper, he was: 
none more so. Capable to a singular degree of 
devising how his army was to get supplies, and 
of actually getting them, he was also capable of 
impressing upon those about him that Clearchus 
must be obeyed; and that he brought about by 
the very hardness of his nature. With a scowl- 
ing expression and a harshly-grating voice, he 
chastised with severity, and at times with such 
fury, that he was sorry afterwards himself for 
what he had done. Yet it was not without pur- 
pose that he applied the whip; he had a theory 
that there was no good to be got out of an un- 
chastened army. A saying of his is recorded to 
the effect that the soldier who is to mount guard 
and keep his hands off his friends, and be ready 
to dash without a moment’s hesitation against the 
foe—must fear his commander more than the 
enemy. Accordingly, in any strait, this was 
the man whom the soldiers were eager to obey, 
and they would have no other in his place. The 
cloud which lay upon his brow, at those times 
lit up with brightness; his face became radiant, 
and the old sternness was so charged with vig- 


228 XENOPHON 


our and knitted strength to meet the foe, that 
it savoured of salvation, not of cruelty. But 
when the pinch of danger was past, and it was 
open to them to go and taste subordination un- 
der some other officer, many forsook him. So 
lacking in grace of manner was he; but was ever 
harsh and savage, so that the feeling of the sol- 
diers towards him was that of schoolboys to a 
master. In other words, though it was not his 
good fortune ever to have followers inspired 
solely by friendship or goodwill, yet those who 
found themselves under him, either by State ap- 
pointment or through want, or other arch ne- 
cessity, yielded him implicit obedience. From 
the moment that he led them to victory, the ele- 
ments which went to make his soldiers efficient 
were numerous enough. There was the feeling 
of confidence in facing the foe, which never left 
them, and there was the dread of punishment 
at his hands to keep them orderly. In this way 
and to this extent he knew how to rule; but to 
play a subordinate part himself he had no great 
taste; so, at any rate, it was said. At the time 
of his death he must have been about fifty years 
of age. 

Proxenus, the Bcoeotian, was of a different 
temperament. It had been the dream of his 
boyhood to become a man capable of great 
achievements. In obedience to this passionate 
desire it was, that he paid his fee to Gorgias of 


ANABASIS BOOK II 229 


Leontini.® After enjoying that teacher’s so- 
ciety, he flattered himself that he must be at once 
qualified to rule; and while he was on friendly 
terms with the leaders of the age, he was not to 
be outdone in reciprocity of service.* In this 
mood he threw himself into the projects of 
Cyrus, and in return expected to derive from 
this essay the reward of a great name, large 
power, and wide wealth. But for all that he 
pitched his hopes so high, it was none the less 
evident that he would refuse to gain any of the 
ends he set before him wrongfully. Righteously 
and honourably he would obtain them, if he 
might, or else forego them. As a commander 
he had the art of leading gentlemen, but he 
failed to inspire adequately either respect for 
himself or fear in the soldiers under him. In- 
deed, he showed a more delicate regard for his 
soldiers than his subordinates for him, and he 
was indisputably more apprehensive of incurring 
their hatred than they were of losing their fidel- 
ity. The one thing needful to real and recog- 


5 The famous rhetorician of Leontini, 485-380 8. c. His fee 
was 100 mine — about $2,000. 

6 Proxenus, like Cyrus, is to some extent a prototype of the 
Cyrus of the Cyropedia. In other words, the author, in de- 
lineating the portrait of his ideal prince, drew from the recol- 
lection of many princely qualities observed by him in the char- 
acters of many friends. Apart from the intrinsic charm of 
the story, the Anabasis is interesting as containing the raw ma- 
terial of experience and reflection which “this young scholar 
or philosopher,” the author, will one day turn to literary ac- 
count. 


280 XENOPHON 


nised generalship was, he thought, to praise the 
virtuous and to withhold praise from the evil- 
doer. It can be easily understood, then, that of 
those who were brought in contact with him, the 
good and noble indeed were his well-wishers; 
but he laid himself open to the machinations of 
the base, who looked upon him as a person to be 
dealt with as they liked. At the time of his 
death he was only thirty years of age. 

As to Menon the Thessalian, the mainspring 
of his action was obvious; what he sought after 
insatiably was wealth. Rule he sought after 
only as a stepping-stone to larger spoils. Hon- 
ours and high estate he craved for simply that 
he might extend the area of his gains; and if he 
studied to be on friendly terms with the power- 
ful, it was in order that he might commit wrong 
with impunity. The shortest road to the achieve- 
ment of his desires lay, he thought, through 
false swearing, lying, and cheating; for in his 
vocabulary simplicity and truth were synonyms 
of folly. Natural affection he clearly enter- 
tained for nobody. If he called a man his friend. 
it might be looked upon as certain that he was - 
bent on ensnaring him. Laughter at an en- 
emy he considered out of place, but his whole 
conversation turned upon the ridicule of his as- 
sociates. In like manner the possessions of his 
foes were secure from his designs, since it was 
no easy task, he thought, to steal from people 


ANABASIS BOOK II 231 


on their guard; but it was his particular good 
fortune to have discovered how easy it is to rob 
a friend in the midst of security. If it were a 
perjured person or a wrongdoer, he dreaded him 
as well armed and intrenched; but the honour- 
able and the truth-loving he tried to practise on, 
regarding them as weaklings devoid of man- 
hood. And as other men pride themselves on 
piety and truth and righteousness, so Menon 
prided himself on a capacity for fraud, on the 
fabrication of lies, on the mockery and scorn 
of friends. The man who was not a rogue he 
ever looked upon as only half educated. Did 
he aspire to the first place in another man’s 
friendship, he set about his object by slandering 
those who stood nearest to him in affection. He 
contrived to secure the obedience of his soldiers 
by making himself an accomplice in their mis- 
deeds, and the fluency with which he vaunted his 
own capacity and readiness for enormous guilt 
was a sufficient title to be honoured and courted 
by them. Or if any one stood aloof from him, 
he set it down as a meritorious act of kindness 
on his part that during their intercourse he had 
not robbed him of existence. 

As to certain obscure charges brought against 
his character, these may certainly be fabrica- 
tions. I confine myself to the following facts, 
which are known to all. He was in the bloom 
of youth when he procured from Aristippus the 


232 XENOPHON 


command of his mercenaries; he had not yet lost 
that bloom when he became exceedingly inti- 
mate with Arius, a barbarian, whose liking for 
fair young men was the explanation; and be- 
fore he had grown a beard himself, he had con- 
tracted a similar relationship with a bearded fa- 
vourite named Tharypas. When his fellow- 
generals were put to death on the plea that they 
had marched with Cyrus against the king, he 
alone, although he had shared their conduct, was 
exempted from their fate. But after their 
deaths the vengeance of the king fell upon him, 
and he was put to death, not like Clearchus and 
the others by what would appear to be the speed- 
iest of deaths—decapitation—but, as report 
says, he lived for a year in pain and disgrace 
and died the death of a felon. 

Agias the Arcadian, and Socrates the Achean 
were both among the sufferers who were put to 
death. To the credit, be it said, of both, no one 
ever derided either as cowardly in war: no one 
ever had a fault to find with either on the score 
of friendship. They were both about thirty- 
five years of age. 


ANABASIS 


BOOK III 


FTER the generals had been seized, and 
A the captains and soldiers who formed 
their escort had been killed, the Hellenes 
lay in deep perplexity—a prey to painful re- 
flections. Here were they at the king’s gates, 
and on every side environing them were many 
hostile cities and tribes of men. Who was there 
now to furnish them with a market? Separated 
from Hellas by more than a thousand miles, 
they had not even a guide to point the way. 
Impassable rivers lay athwart their homeward 
route, and hemmed them in. Betrayed even by 
the Asiatics, at whose side they had marched 
with Cyrus to the attack, they were left in iso- 
lation. Without a single mounted trooper to 
aid them in pursuit: was it not perfectly plain 
that if they won a battle, their enemies would 
escape to a man, but if they were beaten them- 
selves, not one soul of them would survive? 
Haunted by such thoughts, and with hearts 
full of despair, but few of them tasted food 
that evening; but few of them kindled even a 
fire, and many never came into camp at all that 
night, but took their rest where each chanced to 


be. They could not close their eyes for very 
233 


284 XENOPHON 


pain and yearning after their fatherlands or 
their parents, the wife or child whom they never 
expected to look upon again. Such was the 
plight in which each and all tried to seek repose. 
Now there was in that host a certain man, an 
Athenian," Xenophon, who had accompanied 
Cyrus, neither as a general, nor as an officer, 
nor yet as a private soldier, but simply on the 
invitation of an old friend, Proxenus. This old 
friend had sent to fetch him from home, promis- 
ing, if he would come, to introduce him to Cy- 
rus, “ whom,” said Proxenus, “I consider to be 
worth my fatherland and more to me.” 
Xenophon having read the letter, consulted 
Socrates the Athenian, whether he should accept 
or refuse the invitation. Socrates, who had a 
suspicion that the State of Athens might in 
some way look askance at any friendship with 
Cyrus, whose zealous co-operation with the 
Lacedemonians against Athens in the war was 
not forgotten, advised Xenophon to go to Del- 
phi and there to consult the god as to the de- 
sirability of such a journey. Xenophon went 
and put the question to Apollo, to which of the 


1 Grote comments on the first appearance of Xenophon. He 
has been mentioned, of course, more than once before; but he 
now steps, as the protagonist, upon the scene, and as Grote 
says: “It is in true Homeric vein, and in something like Ho- 
meric language, that Xenophon (to whom we owe the whole 
narrative of the expedition) describes his dream, or the inter- 
vention of Oneiros, sent by Zeus, from which this renovating 
impulse took its rise.” 


ANABASIS BOOK III 235 


gods he must pray and do sacrifice, so that he 
might best accomplish his intended journey and 
return in safety, with good fortune. Then 
Apollo answered him: “ΤῸ such and such gods 
must thou do sacrifice,” and when he had re- 
turned home he reported to Socrates the oracle. 
But he, when he heard, blamed Xenophon that 
he had not, in the first instance, inquired of the 
god, whether it were better for him to go or to 
stay, but had taken on himself to settle that 
point affirmatively, by inquiring straightway, 
how he might best perform the journey. “ Since, 
however,” continued Socrates, “you did so put 
the question, you should do what the god en- 
joined.” Thus, and without further ado, Xeno- 
phon offered sacrifice to those whom the god 
had named, and set sail on his voyage. He 
overtook Proxenus and Cyrus at Sardis, when 
they were just ready to start on the march up 
country, and was at once introduced to Cyrus. 
Proxenus eagerly pressed him to stop—a re- 
quest which Cyrus with like ardour supported, 
adding that as soon as the campaign was over 
he would send him home. The campaign re- 
ferred to was understood to be against the 
Pisidians. That is how Xenophon came to join 
the expedition, deceived indeed, though not by 
Proxenus, who was equally in the dark with the 
rest of the Hellenes, not counting Clearchus, 
as to the intended attack upon the king. How- 


286 XENOPHON 


ever, when they reached Cilicia, it was pretty 
plain to all that the expedition was really 
against the king. Then, though the majority 
were in apprehension of the journey, which was 
not at all to their minds, yet, for very shame of 
one another and Cyrus, they continued to follow 
him, and with the rest went Xenophon. 

And now in this season of perplexity, he too, 
with the rest, was in sore distress, and could not 
sleep; but anon, getting a snatch of sleep, he 
had a dream. It seemed to him in a vision that 
there was a storm of thunder and lightning, and 
a bolt fell on his father’s house, and thereupon 
the house was all in a blaze. He sprung up in 
terror, and pondering the matter, decided that 
in part the dream was good: in that he had seen 
a great light from Zeus, whilst in the midst of 
toil and danger. But partly too he feared it, 
for evidently it had come from Zeus the king. 
And the fire kindled all around—what could 
that mean but that he was hemmed in by various 
perplexities, and so could not escape from the 
country of the king? The full meaning, how- 
ever, is to be discovered from what happened 
after the dream. 

This is what took place. As soon as he was 
fully awake, the first clear thought which came 
into his head was, Why am I lying here? The 
night advances; with the day, it is like enough, 
the enemy will be upon us. If we are to fall 


ANABASIS BOOK III 237 


into the hands of the king, what is left to us 
but to face the most horrible of sights, and to 
suffer the most fearful pains, and then to die, 
insulted, an ignominious death? 'To defend our- 
selves—to ward off that fate—not a hand stirs: 
no one is preparing, none cares; but here we lie, 
as though it were time to rest and take our ease. 
I too! what am I waiting for? a general to un- 
dertake the work? and from what city? am I 
waiting till I am older myself and of riper age? 
older I shall never be, if to-day I betray myself 
to my enemies. 

Thereupon he got up, and called together first 
Proxenus’s officers; and when they were met, he 
said: “Sleep, sirs, I cannot, nor can you, I 
fancy, nor lie here longer, when I see in what 
straits we are. Our enemy, we may be sure, did 
not open war upon us till he felt he had every- 
thing amply ready; yet none of us shows a cor- 
responding anxiety to enter the lists of battle 
in the bravest style. 

“ And yet, if we yield ourselves and fall into 
the king’s power, need we ask what our fate 
will be? This man, who, when his own brother, 
the son of the same parents, was dead, was not 
content with that, but severed head and hand 
from the body, and nailed them to a cross. We, 
then, who have not even the tie of blood in our 
favour, but who marched against him, meaning 
to make a slave of him instead of a king—and 


238 XENOPHON 


to slay him if we could: what is likely to be our 
fate at his hands? Will he not go all lengths so 
that, by inflicting on us the extreme of ignominy 
and torture, he may rouse in the rest of man- 
kind a terror of ever marching against him any 
more? There is no question but that our busi- 
ness is to avoid by all means getting into his 
clutches. 

“For my part, all the while the truce lasted, I 
never ceased pitying ourselves and congratu- 
lating the king and those with him, as, like a 
helpless spectator, I surveyed the extent and 
quality of their territory, the plenteousness of 
their provisions, the multitude of their depend- 
ants, their cattle, their gold, and their apparel. 
And then to turn and ponder the condition of 
our soldiers, without part or lot in these good 
things except we bought it; few, I know, had 
any longer the wherewithal to buy, and yet our 
oath held us down, so that we could not provide 
ourselves otherwise than by purchase. I say, as 
I reasoned thus, there were times when I dreaded 
the truce more than I now dread war. 

“Now, however, that they have abruptly 
ended the truce, there is an end also to their 
own insolence and to our suspicion. All these 
good things of theirs are now set as prizes for 
the combatants. ΤῸ whichsoever of us shall 
prove the better men, will they fall as guerdons; 
and the gods themselves are the judges of the 


ANABASIS BOOK ITI 239 


strife. The gods, who full surely will be on our 
side, seeing it is our enemies who have taken 
their names falsely; whilst we, with much to 
lure us, yet for our oath’s sake, and the gods 
who were our witnesses, sternly held aloof. So 
that, it seems to me, we have a right to enter 
upon this contest with much more heart than 
our foes; and further, we are possessed of bodies 
more capable than theirs of bearing cold and 
heat and labour; souls too we have, by the help 
of heaven, better and braver; nay, the men 
themselves are more vulnerable, more mortal, 
than ourselves, if so be the gods vouchsafe to 
give us victory once again. 

“ Howbeit, for I doubt not elsewhere similar 
reflections are being made, whatsoever betide, 
let us not, in heaven’s name, wait for others to 
come and challenge us to noble deeds; let us 
rather take the lead in stimulating the rest to 
valour. Show yourselves to be the bravest of 
officers, and among generals, the worthiest to 
command. For myself, if you choose to start 
forward on this quest, I will follow; or, if you 
bid me lead you, my age shall be no excuse to 
stand between me and your orders. At least I am 
of full age, I take it, to avert misfortune from 
my own head.” 

Such were the speaker’s words; and the of- 
ficers, when they heard, all, with one exception, 
called upon him to put himself at their head. 


240 XENOPHON 


This was a certain Apollonides there present, 
who spoke in the Beeotian dialect. ‘This man’s 
opinion was that it was mere nonsense for any 
one to pretend they could obtain safety other- 
wise than by an appeal to the king, if he had 
skill to enforce it; and at the same time he 
began to dilate on the difficulties. But Xeno- 
phon cut him short. “O most marvellous of 
men! though you have eyes to see, you do not 
perceive; though you have ears to hear, you do 
not recollect. You were present with the rest of 
us now here when, after the death of Cyrus, the 
king, vaunting himself on that occurrence, sent 
dictatorially to bid us lay down our arms. But 
when we, instead of giving up our arms, put © 
them on and went and pitched our camp near 
him, his manner changed. It is hard to say 
what he did not do, he was so at his wit’s end, 
sending us embassies and begging for a truce, 
and furnishing provisions the while, until he had 
got it. Or to take the contrary instance, when 
just now, acting precisely on your principles, 
our generals and captains went, trusting to the 
truce, unarmed to a conference with them, what 
came of it? what is happening at this instant? 
Beaten, goaded with pricks, insulted, poor souls, 
they cannot even die: though death, I ween, 
would be very sweet. And you, who know all 
this, how can you say that it is mere nonsense 
to talk of self-defence? how can you bid us go 


ANABASIS BOOK III 241 


again and try the arts of persuasion? In my 
opinion, sirs, we ought not to admit this fellow 
to the same rank with ourselves; rather ought 
we to deprive him of his captaincy, and load 
him with packs and treat him as such. The man 
is a disgrace to his own fatherland and the 
whole of Hellas, that, being a Hellene, he is 
what he is.” 

Here Agasias the Stymphalian broke in, ex- 
claiming: “ Nay, this fellow has no connection 
either with Boeotia or with Hellas, none what- 
ever. I have noted both his ears bored like a 
Lydian’s.” And so it was. Him then they ban- 
ished. But the rest visited the ranks, and wher- 
ever a general was left, they summoned the 
general; where he was gone, the lieutenant- 
general; and where again the captain alone was 
left, the captain. As soon as they were all met, 
they seated themselves in front of the place 
d’armes: the assembled generals and _ officers, 
numbering about a hundred. It was nearly 
midnight when this took place. 

Thereupon Hieronymus the Eleian, the eld- 
est of Proxenus’s captains, commenced speak- 
ing as follows: “Generals and captains, it 
seemed right to us, in view of the present crisis, 
ourselves to assemble and to summon you, that 
we might advise upon some practicable course. 
Would you, Xenophon, repeat what you said 
to us?” 


242 XENOPHON 


Thereupon Xenophon spoke as _ follows: 
“We all know only too well, that the king and 
Tissaphernes have seized as many of us as they 
could, and it is clear they are plotting to destroy 
the rest of us if they can. Our business is plain: 
it is to do all we can to avoid getting into the 
power of the barbarians; rather, if we can, we 
will get them into our power. Rely upon this 
then, all you who are here assembled, now is 
your great opportunity. ‘The soldiers outside 
have their eyes fixed upon you; if they think 
that you are faint-hearted, they will turn cow- 
ards; but if you show them that you are making 
your own preparations to attack the enemy, and 
setting an example to the rest—follow you, be 
assured, they will: imitate you they will. May 
be, it is but right and fair that you should some- 
what excel them, for you are generals, you are 
commanders of brigades or of regiments; and 
if, while it was peace, you had the advantage in 
wealth and position, so now, when it is war, you 
are expected to rise superior to the common 
herd—to think for them, to toil for them, when- 
ever there be need. 

“At this very moment you would confer a 
great boon on the army, if you made it your 
business to appoint generals and officers to fill 
the places of those that are lost. For without 
leaders nothing good or noble, to put it con- 
cisely, was ever wrought anywhere; and in mili- 


ANABASIS BOOK III 243 


tary matters this is absolutely true; for if disci- 
pline is held to be of saving virtue, the want of 
it has been the ruin of many ere now. Well, 
then! when you have appointed all the com- 
manders necessary, it would only be opportune, 
I take it, if you were to summon the rest of the 
soldiers and to speak some words of encourage- 
ment. Even now, I daresay you noticed your- 
selves the crestfallen air with which they came 
into camp, the despondency with which they fell 
to picket duty, so that, unless there is a change 
for the better, I do not know for what service 
they will be fit; whether by night, if need were, 
or even by day. The thing is to get them to 
turn their thoughts to what they mean to do, in- 
stead of to what they are likely to suffer. Do 
that, and their spirits will soon revive wonder- 
fully. You know, I need hardly remind you, 
it is not numbers or strength that gives victory 
in war; but, heaven helping them, to one or 
other of two combatants it is given to dash with 
stouter hearts to meet the foe, and such onset, 
in nine cases out of ten, those others refuse to 
meet. This observation, also, I have laid to 
heart, that they, who in matters of war seek in 
all ways to save their lives, are just they who, 
as a rule, die dishonourably; whereas they who, 
recognising that death is the common lot and 
destiny of all men, strive hard to die nobly: 
these more frequently, as I observe, do after all 


244 XENOPHON 


attain to old age, or, at any rate, while life lasts, 
they spend their days more happily. This les- 
son let all lay to heart this day, for we are just 
at such a crisis of our fate. Now is the season 
to be brave ourselves, and to stimulate the rest 
by our example.” 

With these words he ceased; and after him, 
Cheirisophus said: “Xenophon, hitherto I 
knew only so much of you as that you were, 
I heard, an Athenian, but now I must commend 
you for your words and for your conduct. I 
hope that there may be many more like you, for 
it would prove a public blessing.” Then turn- 
ing to the officers: “And now,” said he, “let 
us waste no time; retire at once, I beg you, and 
choose leaders where you need them. After you 
have made your elections, come back to the mid- 
dle of the camp, and bring the newly appointed 
officers. After that, we will there summon a 
general meeting of the soldiers. Let Tolmides, 
the herald,’ he added, “be in attendance.” 
With these words on his lips he got up, in order 
that what was needful might be done at once 
without delay. After this the generals were 
chosen. ‘These were Timasion the Dardanian, 
in place of Clearchus; Xanthicles, an Achzan, 
in place of Socrates; Cleanor, an Arcadian, in 
place of Agias; Philesius, an Achzan, in place 
of Menon; and in place of Proxenus, Xeno- 
phon the Athenian. 


ANABASIS BOOK III 245 


II.—By the time the new generals had been 
chosen, the first faint glimmer of dawn had 
hardly commenced, as they met in the centre of 
the camp, and resolved to post an advance 
guard and to call a general meeting of the sol- 
diers. Now, when these had come together, 
Cheirisophus the Lacedemonian first rose and 
spoke as follows: “ Fellow-soldiers, the pres- 
ent posture of affairs is not pleasant, seeing that 
we are robbed of so many generals and captains 
and soldiers; and more than that, our former 
allies, Arizus and his men, have betrayed us; 
still, we must rise above our circumstances to 
prove ourselves brave men, and not give in, but 
try to save ourselves by glorious victory if we 
can; or, if not, at least die gloriously, and never, 
while we have breath in our bodies, fall into the 
hands of our enemies. In which latter case, I 
fear, we shall suffer things, which I pray the 
gods may visit rather upon those we hate.” 

At this point Cleanor the Orchomenian stood 
up and spoke as follows: ‘“ You see, men, the 
perjury and the impiety of the king. You see 
the faithlessness of 'Tissaphernes, professing 
that he was next-door neighbour to Hellas, 
and would give a good deal to save us, in con- 
firmation of which he took an oath to us him- 
self, he gave us the pledge of his right hand, 
and then, with a lie upon his lips, this same man 
turned round and arrested our generals. He 


240 XENOPHON 


had no reverence even for Zeus, the god of 
strangers; but, after entertaining Clearchus at 
his own board as a friend, he used his hospi- 
tality to delude and decoy his victims. And 
Arizus, whom we offered to make king, with 
whom we exchanged pledges not to betray each 
other, even this man, without a particle of fear 
of the gods, or respect for Cyrus in his grave, 
though he was most honoured by Cyrus in life- 
time, even he has turned aside to the worst foes 
of Cyrus, and is doing his best to injure the 
dead man’s friends. ‘Them may the gods re- 
quite as they deserve! But we, with these things 
before our eyes, will not any more be cheated 
and cajoled by them; we will make the best fight 
we can, and having made it, whatever the gods 
think fit to send, we will accept.” 

After him Xenophon arose; he was arrayed 
for war in his bravest apparel: “For,” said he 
to himself, “‘if the gods grant victory, the finest 
attire will match with victory best; or if I must 
needs die, then for one who has aspired to the 
noblest, it is well there should be some outward 
correspondence between his expectation and his 
end.” He began his speech as follows: “Cle- 
anor has spoken of the perjury and faithless- 
ness of the barbarians, and you yourselves know 
them only too well, I fancy. If then we are 
minded to enter a second time into terms of 
friendship with them, with the experience of 


ANABASIS BOOK ΤΙ 247 


what our generals, who in all confidence en- 
trusted themselves to their power, have suf- 
fered, reason would we should feel deep de- 
spondency. If, on the other hand, we purpose 
to take our good swords in our hands and to 
inflict punishment on them for what they have 
done, and from this time forward will be on 
terms of downright war with them, then, God 
helping, we have many a bright hope of safety.” 
The words were scarcely spoken when some 
one sneezed,’ and with one impulse the soldiers 
bowed in worship; and Xenophon proceeded: 
“TI propose, sirs, since, even as we spoke of 
safety, an omen from Zeus the Saviour has ap- 
peared, we vow a vow to sacrifice to the Saviour 
thank-offerings for safe deliverance, whereso- 
ever first we reach a friendly country; and let us 
couple with that vow another of individual as- 
sent, that we will offer to the rest of the gods 
‘according to our ability.’ Let all those who are 
in favour of this proposal hold up their hands.” 
They all held up their hands, and there and then 
they vowed a vow and chanted the battle hymn. 
But as soon as these sacred matters were duly 
ended, he began once more thus: “I was saying 
that many and bright are the hopes we have of 
safety. First of all, we it is who confirm and 


2This ancient omen is mentioned in the Odyssey: “ Even so 
she spake, and Telemachus sneezed loudly, and around the roof 
rung wondrously. And Penelope laughed.” . . . “ Dost thou 


not mark how my son has sneezed a blessing on all my words? ” 


248 XENOPHON 


ratify the oaths we take by heaven, but our en- 
emies have taken false oaths and broken the 
truce, contrary to their solemn word. ‘This 
being so, it is but natural that the gods should 
be opposed to our enemies, but with ourselves 
allied; the gods, who are able to make the great 
ones quickly small, and out of sore perplexity 
can save the little ones with ease, what time it 
pleases them. In the next place, let me recall 
to your minds the dangers of our own fore- 
fathers, that you may see and know that bravery 
is your heirloom, and that by the aid of the gods 
brave men are rescued even out of the midst of 
sorest straits. So was it when the Persians 
came, and their attendant hosts, with a very 
great armament, to wipe out Athens from the 
face of the earth—the men of Athens had the 
heart to withstand them and conquered them. 
Then they vowed to Artemis that for every man 
they slew of the enemy, they would sacrifice to 
the goddess goats so many; and when they could 
not find sufficient for the slain, they resolved to 
offer yearly five hundred; and to this day they 
perform that sacrifice. And at a somewhat 
later date, when Xerxes assembled his countless 
hosts and marched upon Hellas, then too our 
fathers conquered the forefathers of our foes 
by land and by sea. 

“And proofs of these things are yet to be 
seen in trophies; but the greatest witness of all 


ANABASIS BOOK III 249 


is the freedom of our cities,—the liberty of that 
land in which you were born and bred. For 
you call no man master or lord; you bow your 
heads to none save to the gods alone. Such were 
your forefathers, and their sons are ye. ‘Think 
not I am going to say that you put to shame 
in any way your ancestry—far from it. Not 
many days since, you too were drawn up in bat- 
tle face to face with these true descendants of 
their ancestors, and by the help of heaven you 
conquered them, though they many times out- 
numbered you. At that time, it was to win a 
throne for Cyrus that you showed your bravery; 
to-day, when the struggle is for your own sal- 
vation, what is more natural than that you should 
show yourselves braver and more zealous still. 
Nay, it is very meet and right you should be 
more undaunted still to-day to face the foe. The 
other day, though you had not tested them, and 
before your eyes lay their immeasurable host, 
you had the heart to go against them with the 
spirit of your fathers. To-day you have made 
trial of them, and knowing that, however many 
times your number, they do not care to await 
your onset, what concern have you now to be 
afraid of them? 

“Nor let any one suppose that herein is a 
point of weakness, in that Cyrus’s troops, who 
before were drawn up by your side, have now 
deserted us, for they are even worse cowards 


250 XENOPHON 


still than those we worsted. At any rate they 
have deserted us, and sought refuge with them. 
Leaders of the forlorn hope of flight—far bet- 
ter is it to have them brigaded with the enemy 
than shoulder to shoulder in our ranks. But if 
any of you is out of heart to think that we have 
no cavalry, while the enemy have many squad- 
rons to command, lay to heart this doctrine, that 
ten thousand horse equal only the ten thousand 
men upon their backs, neither less nor more. 
Did any one ever die in battle from the bite or 
kick of a horse? It is the men, the real swords- 
men, who do whatever is done in battles. In 
fact we, on our stout shanks, are better mounted 
than those cavalry fellows; there they hang on 
to their horses’ necks in mortal dread, not only 
of us, but of falling off; while we, well planted 
upon earth, can deal far heavier blows to our 
assailants, and aim more steadily at whom we 
will. There is one point, I admit, in which their 
cavalry have the whip-hand of us; it is safer for 
them than it is for us to run away. 

“May be, however, you are in good heart 
about the fighting, but annoyed to think that 
‘Tissaphernes will not guide us any more, and 
that the king will not furnish us with a market 
any longer. Now, consider, is it better for us to 
have a guide like Tissaphernes, whom we know 
to be plotting against us, or to take our chance 
of the stray people whom we catch and compel 


ANABASIS BOOK III 251 


to guide us, who will know that any mistake 
made in leading us will be a sad mistake for 
their own lives? Again, is it better to be buying 
provisions in a market of their providing, in 
scant measure and at high prices, without even 
the money to pay for them any longer; or, by 
right of conquest, to help ourselves, applying 
such measure as suits our fancy best? 

“Or again, perhaps you admit that our pres- 
ent position is not without its advantages, but 
you feel sure that the rivers are a difficulty, and 
think that you were never more taken in than 
when you crossed them; if so, consider whether, 
after all, this is not perhaps the most foolish 
thing which the barbarians have done. No river 
is impassable throughout; whatever difficulties it 
may present at some distance from its source, 
you need only make your way up to the spring- 
head, and there you may cross it without wetting 
more than your ankles. But, granted that the 
rivers do bar our passage, and that guides are 
not forthcoming, what care we? We need feel 
no alarm for all that. We have heard of the 
Mysians, a people whom we certainly cannot ad- 
mit to be better than ourselves; and yet they i - 
habit numbers of large and prosperous cities in 
the king’s own country without asking leave. 
The Pisidians are an equally good instance, or 
the Lycaonians. We have seen with our own 
eyes how they fare: seizing fortresses down in 


252 XENOPHON 


the plains, and reaping the fruits of these men’s 
territory. As to us, I go so far as to assert, we 
ought never to have let it be seen that we were 
bent on getting home: at any rate, not so soon; 
we should have begun stocking and furnishing 
ourselves, as if we fully meant to settle down 
for life somewhere or other hereabouts. I am 
sure that the king would be thrice glad to give 
the Mysians as many guides as they like, or as 
many hostages as they care to demand, in re- 
turn for a safe conduct out of his country; he 
would make carriage roads for them, and if they 
preferred to take their departure in coaches and 
four, he would not say them nay. So too, I am 
sure, he would be only too glad to accommodate 
us in the same way, if he saw us preparing to 
settle down here. But, perhaps, it is just as 
well that we did not stop; for I fear, if once we 
learn to live in idleness and to batten in luxury 
and dalliance with these tall and handsome Me- 
dian and Persian women and maidens, we shall 
be like the Lotus-eaters, and forget the road 
home altogether. 

“It seems to me that it is only right, in the 
first instance, to make an effort to return to 
Hellas and to revisit our hearths and homes, if 
only to prove to other Hellenes that it is their 
own fault if they are poor and needy, seeing it 
is in their power to give to those now living a 
pauper life at home a free passage hither, and 


ANABASIS BOOK III 258 


convert them into well-to-do burghers at once. 
Now, sirs, is it not clear that all these good things 
belong to whoever has strength to hold them? 

** Let us look another matter in the face. How 
are we to march most safely? or where blows 
are needed, how are we to fight to the best ad- 
vantage? That is the question. 

“The first thing which I recommend is to 
burn the wagons we have got, so that we may be 
free to march wherever the army needs, and not, 
practically, make our baggage train our general. 
And, next, we should throw our tents into the 
bonfire also: for these again are only a trouble 
to carry, and do not contribute one grain of 
good either for fighting or getting provisions. 
Further, let us get rid of all superfluous bag- 
gage, save only what we require for the sake of 
war, or meat and drink, so that as many of us 
as possible may be under arms, and as few as 
possible doing porterage. I need not remind you 
that, in case of defeat, the owners’ goods are not 
their own; but if we master our foes, we will 
make them our baggage bearers. 

“It only rests for me to name the one thing 
which I look upon as the greatest of all. You 
see, the enemy did not dare to bring war to bear 
upon us until they had first seized our generals; 
they felt that whilst our rulers were there, and 
we obeyed them, they were no match for us in 
war; but having got hold of them, they fully 


254 XENOPHON 


expected that the consequent confusion and an- 
archy would prove fatal to us. What follows? 
This: Officers and leaders ought to be more 
vigilant even than their predecessors; subordi- 
nates still more orderly and obedient to those in 
command now than even they were to those who 
are gone. And you should pass a resolution 
that, in case of insubordination, any one who 
stands by is to aid the officer in chastising the 
offender. So the enemy will be mightily de- 
ceived; for on this day they will behold ten thou- 
sand Clearchuses instead of one, who will not 
suffer one man to play the coward. And now 
it is high time I brought my remarks to an end, 
for may be the enemy will be here anon. Let 
those who are in favour of these proposals con- 
firm them with all speed, that they may be real- 
ised in fact; or if any other course seem better, 
let not any one, even though he be a private 
soldier, shrink from proposing it. Our common 
safety is our common need.” 

After this Cheirisophus spoke. He said: “If 
there is anything else to be done, beyond what 
Xenophon has mentioned, we shall be able to 
carry it out presently; but with regard to what 
he has already proposed, it seems to me the best 
course to vote upon the matters at once. Those 
who are in favour of Xenophon’s proposals, hold 
up their hands.” They all held them up. Xeno- 
phon rose again and said: “ Listen, sirs, while 


ANABASIS BOOK III 255 


I tell you what I think we have need of besides. 
It is clear that we must march where we can get 
provisions. Now, I am told there are some 
splendid villages not more than two miles and 
a half distant. I should not be surprised, then, 
if the enemy were to hang on our heels and dog 
us as we retire, like cowardly curs which rush 
out at the passer-by and bite him if they can, 
but when you turn upon them they run away. 
Such will be their tactics, I take it. It may be 
safer, then, to march in a hollow square, so as 
to place the baggage animals and our mob of 
sutlers in greater security. It will save time to 
make the appointments at once, and to settle who 
leads the square and directs the vanguard; who 
will take command of the two flanks, and who 
of the rearguard; so that, when the enemy ap- 
pears, we shall not need to deliberate, but can at 
once set in motion the machinery in existence. 
“If any one has any better plan, we need not 
adopt mine; but if not, suppose Cheirisophus 
take the lead, as he is a Lacedemonian, and the 
two eldest generals take in charge the two wings 
respectively, whilst Timasion and I, the two 
youngest, will for the present guard the rear. 
For the rest, we can but make experiment of 
this arrangement, and alter it with deliberation, 
as from time to time any improvement suggests 
itself. If any one has a better plan to propose, 
let him do so.” . . . No dissentient voice was 


256 XENOPHON 


heard. Accordingly he said: “ Those in favour 
of this resolution, hold up their hands.” The 
resolution was carried. ‘“‘ And now,” said he, 
“it would be well to separate and carry out what 
we have decreed. If any of you has set his heart 
on seeing his friends again, let him remember to 
prove himself a man; there is no other way to 
achieve his heart’s wish. Or is mere living an ob- 
ject with any of you, strive to conquer; if to 
slay is the privilege of victory, to die is the doom 
of the defeated. Or perhaps to gain money and 
wealth is your ambition, strive again for mas- 
tery; have not conquerors the double gain of 
keeping what is their own, whilst they seize the 
possessions of the vanquished?” 

III.—The speaking was ended; they got up 
and retired; then they burnt the wagons and 
the tents, and after sharing with one another 
what each needed out of their various superflu- 
ities, they threw the remnant into the fire. Hav- 
ing done that, they proceeded to make their 
breakfasts. While they were breakfasting, 
Mithridates came with about thirty horsemen, 
and summoning the generals within earshot, he 
thus addressed them: ‘“‘ Men of Hellas, I have 
been faithful to Cyrus, as you know well, and 
to-day I am your well-wisher; indeed, I am here 
spending my days in great fear: if then I could 
see any salutary course in prospect, I should be 
disposed to join you with all my retainers. 


ANABASIS BOOK III 257 


Please inform me, then, as to what you propose, 
regarding me as your friend and well-wisher, 
anxious only to pursue his march in your com- 
pany.” ‘The generals held council, and resolved 
to give the following answer, Cheirisophus act- 
ing as spokesman: “ We have resolved to make 
our way through the country, inflicting the least 
possible damage, provided we are allowed a free 
passage homewards; but if any one tries to hin- 
der us, he will have to fight it out with us, and 
we shall bring all the force in our power to bear.” 
Thereat Mithridates set himself to prove to them 
that their deliverance, except with the king’s 
good pleasure, was hopeless. Then the meaning 
of his mission was plain. He was an agent in 
disguise; in fact, a relation of 'Tissaphernes was 
in attendance to keep a check on his loyalty. 
After that, the generals resolved that it would 
be better to proclaim open war, without truce 
or herald, as long as they were in the enemy’s 
company; for they used to come and corrupt the 
soldiers, and they were even successful with one 
officer—Nicarchus, an Arcadian, who went off 
in the night with about twenty men. 

After this, they breakfasted and crossed the 
river Zapatas, marching in regular order, with 
the beasts and mob of the army in the middle. 
They had not advanced far on their route when 
Mithridates made his appearance again, with 
about a couple of hundred horsemen at his back, 


258 XENOPHON 


and bowmen and slingers twice as many, as nim- 
ble fellows as a man might hope to see. He ap- 
proached the Hellenes as if he were friendly; 
but when they had got fairly to close quarters, 
all of a sudden some of them, whether mounted 
or on foot, began shooting with their bows and 
arrows, and another set with slings, wounding 
the men. The rearguard of the Hellenes suf- 
fered for a while severely without being able to 
retaliate, for the Cretans had a shorter range 
than the Persians, and at the same time, being 
light-armed troops, they lay cooped up within 
the ranks of the heavy infantry, while the jave- 
lin men again did not shoot far enough to reach 
the enemy’s slingers. This being so, Xenophon 
thought there was nothing for it but to charge, 
and charge they did; some of the heavy and light 
infantry, who were guarding the rear, with him; 
but for all their charging they did not catch a 
single man. 

The dearth of cavalry told against the Hel- 
lenes; nor were their infantry able to overhaul 
the enemy’s infantry, with the long start they 
had, and considering the shortness of the race, 
for it was out of the question to pursue them 
far from the main body of the army. On the 
other hand, the Asiatic cavalry, even while flee- 
ing, poured volleys of arrows behind their backs, 
and wounded the pursuers; while the Hellenes 
must fall back fighting every step of the way 


ANABASIS BOOK III 259 


they had measured in the pursuit; so that by the 
end of that day they had not gone much more 
than three miles; but in the late afternoon they 
reached the villages. 

Here there was a return of the old despond- 
ency. Cheirisophus and the eldest of the gen- 
erals blamed Xenophon for leaving the main 
body to give chase and endangering himself 
thereby, while he could not damage the enemy 
one whit the more. Xenophon admitted that 
they were right in blaming him: no better proof 
of that was wanted than the result. “The fact 
is,” he added, “1 was driven to pursue; it was 
too trying to look on and see our men suffer so 
badly, and be unable to retaliate. However, 
when we did charge, there is no denying the 
truth of what you say; we were not a whit more 
able to injure the enemy, while we had con- 
siderable difficulty in beating a retreat ourselves. 
Thank heaven they did not come upon us in any 
great force, but were only a handful of men; 
so that the injury they did us was not large, 
as it might have been; and at least it has served 
to show us what we need. At present the enemy 
shoot and sling beyond our range, so that our 
Cretan archers are no match for them; our hand- 
throwers cannot reach as far; and when we pur- 
sue, it is not possible to push the pursuit to any 
great distance from the main body, and within 
the short distance no foot-soldier, however fleet 


260 XENOPHON 


of foot, could overtake another foot-soldier who 
has a bow-shot the start of him. If, then, we are 
to exclude them from all possibility of injuring 
us as we march, we must get slingers as soon as 
possible and cavalry. I am told there are in 
the army some Rhodians, most of whom, they 
say, know how to sling, and their missile will 
reach even twice as far as the Persian slings 
(which, on account of their being loaded with 
stones as big as one’s fist, have a comparatively 
short range; but the Rhodians are skilled in the 
use of leaden bullets). Suppose, then, we in- 
vestigate and find out first of all who among 
them possess slings, and for these slings offer 
the owner the money value; and to another, who 
will plait some more, hand over the money price; 
and for a third, who will volunteer to be enrolled 
as a slinger, invent some other sort of privilege, 
I think we shall soon find people to come for- 
ward capable of helping us. There are horses in 
the army, I know; some few with myself and 
others belonging to Clearchus’s stud, and a good 
many others captured from the enemy, used for 
carrying baggage. Let us take the pick of 
these, supplying their places by ordinary bag- 
gage animals, and equipping the horses for cav- 
alry. I should not wonder if our troopers gave 
some annoyance to these fugitives.” 

These proposals were carried, and that night 
two hundred slingers were enrolled, and next 


ANABASIS BOOK ITI 261 


day as many as fifty horse and horsemen passed 
muster as duly qualified; buff jackets and 
cuirasses were provided for them, and a com- 
mandant of cavalry appointed to command— 
Lycius, the son of Polystratus, by name, an 
Athenian. 

IV.—That day they remained inactive, but 
the next they rose earlier than usual, and set 
out betimes, for they had a ravine to cross, where 
they feared the enemy might attack them in the 
act of crossing. When they were across, Mithri- 
dates appeared again with one thousand horse, 
and archers and slingers to the number of four 
thousand. This whole body he had got by re- 
quest from Tissaphernes, and in return he un- 
dertook to deliver up the Hellenes to Tissa- 
phernes. He had grown contemptuous since his 
late attack, when, with so small a detachment, he 
had done, as he thought, a good deal of mischief, 
without the slightest loss to himself. 

When the Hellenes were not only right across, 
but had got about a mile from the ravine, Mith- 
ridates also crossed with his forces. An order 
had been passed down the lines, what light in- 
fantry and what heavy infantry were to take 
part in the pursuit; and the cavalry were in- 
structed to follow up the pursuit with confi- 
dence, as a considerable support was in their 
rear. So, when Mithridates had come up with 
them, and they were well within arrow and sling 


262 XENOPHON 


shot, the bugle sounded the signal to the Hel- 
lenes; and immediately the detachment under 
orders rushed to close quarters, and the cavalry 
charged. There the enemy preferred not to 
wait, but fled towards the ravine. In this pur- 
suit the Asiatics lost several of their infantry 
killed, and of their cavalry as many as eighteen 
were taken prisoners in the ravine. As to those 
who were slain the Hellenes, acting upon im- 
pulse, mutilated their bodies, by way of impress- 
ing their enemy with as frightful an image as 
possible. 

So fared the foe and so fell back; but the 
Hellenes, continuing their march in safety for 
the rest of that day, reached the river Tigris. 
Here they came upon a large deserted city, the 
name of which was Larissa:* a place inhabited 
by the Medes in days of old; the breadth of its 
walls was twenty-five feet, and the height of 
them a hundred, and the circuit of the whole two 
parasangs. It was built of clay-bricks, sup- 
ported on a stone basis twenty feet high. This 
city the king of the Persians* besieged, what 
time the Persians strove to snatch their empire 
from the Medes, but he could in no wise take it; 
then a cloud hid the face of the sun and blotted 
out the light thereof, until the inhabitants were 

Larissa, on the site of the modern Nimrud (the southwest 


corner, as is commonly supposed, of Nineveh). 
41. e., Cyrus the Great. 


ANABASIS BOOK III 263 


gone out of the city, and so it was taken. By 
the side of this city there was a stone pyramid in 
breadth a hundred feet, and in height two hun- 
dred feet; in it were many of the barbarians 
who had fled for refuge from the neighbouring 
villages. 

From this place they marched one stage of 
six parasangs to a great deserted fortress 
(which lay over against the city), and the name 
of that city was Mespila.2 The Medes once 
dwelt in it. The basement was made of polished 
stone full of shells; fifty feet was the breadth 
of it, and fifty feet the height; and on this base- 
ment was reared a wall of brick, the breadth 
whereof was fifty feet and the height thereof 
four hundred; and the circuit of the wall was 
six parasangs. Hither, as the story goes, Me- 
dea,’ the king’s wife, betook herself in flight what 
time the Medes lost their empire at the hands of 
the Persians. ΤῸ this city also the king of the 
Persians laid siege, but could not take it either 
by length of days or strength of hand. But 
Zeus sent amazement on the inhabitants thereof, 
and so it was taken. 


5 Opposite Mosul, the northwest portion of the ancient Nine- 
veh, about eighteen miles above Larissa. The circuit of Nineveh 
is said to have been about fifty-six miles. It was overthrown 
by Cyrus in 8. c. 558. 

6 The wife of Astyages, the last king of Media. Some think 
“the wall of Media” (referred to above) should be “ Medea’s 
wall,” constructed in the period of Queen Nitocris, B. c. 560. 


264 XENOPHON 


From this place they marched one stage—four 
parasangs. But, while still on this stage, Tissa- 
phernes made his appearance. He had with him 
his own cavalry and a force belonging to Oron- 
tas, who had the king’s daughter to wife; and 
there were, moreover, with them the Asiatics 
whom Cyrus had taken with him on his march 
up; together with those whom the king’s brother 
had brought as a reinforcement to the king; be- 
sides those whom Tissaphernes himself had re- 
ceived as a gift from the king, so that the arma- 
ment appeared to be very great. When they 
were close, he halted some of his regiments at 
the rear and wheeled others into position on 
either flank, but hesitated to attack, having no 
mind apparently to run any risks, and content- 
ing himself with an order to his slingers to sling 
and his archers to shoot. But when the Rhodian 
slingers and the bowmen, posted at intervals, re- 
taliated, and every shot told (for with the ut- 
most pains to miss it would have been hard to do 
so under the circumstances), then Tissaphernes 
with all speed retired out of range, the other 
regiments following suit; and for the rest of the 
day the one party advanced and the other fol- 
lowed. But now the Asiatics had ceased to be 
dangerous with their sharpshooting. For the 
Rhodians could reach further than the Persian 
slingers, or, indeed, than most of the bowmen. 
The Persian bows are of great size, so that the 


ANABASIS BOOK III 265 


Cretans found the arrows which were picked up 
serviceable, and persevered in using their ene- 
mies’ arrows, and practised shooting with them, 
letting them fly upwards to a great height. 
There were also plenty of bowstrings found in 
the villages—and lead, which they turned to ac- 
count for their slings. As the result of this day, 
then, the Hellenes chancing upon some villages 
had no sooner encamped than the barbarians fell 
back, having had distinctly the worst of it in 
the skirmishing. 

The next was a day of inaction: they halted 
and took in supplies, as there was much corn in 
the villages; but on the day following, the march 
was continued through the plain (of the Tigris), 
and Tissaphernes still hung on their skirts with 
his skirmishers. And now it was that the Hel- 
lenes discovered the defect of marching in a 
square with an enemy following. As a matter 
of necessity, whenever the wings of an army so 
disposed draw together, either where a road nar- 
rows, or hills close in, or a bridge has to be 
crossed, the heavy infantry cannot help being 
squeezed out of their ranks, and march with dif- 
culty, partly from actual pressure, and partly 
from the general confusion that ensues; and 
once thrown into disorder that arm is practically 
useless. Or, supposing the wings are again ex- 
tended, the troops have hardly recovered from 
their former distress before they are pulled asun- 


266 XENOPHON 


der, and there is a wide space between the wings, 
and the men concerned lose confidence in them- 
selves, especially with an enemy close behind. 
What happened, when a bridge had to be crossed 
or other passage effected, was, that each unit of 
the force pressed on in anxiety to get over the 
first, and at these moments it was easy for the 
enemy to make an attack. The generals ac- 
cordingly, having recognised the defect, set 
about curing it. To do so, they made six lochi, 
or divisions of a hundred men apiece, each of 
which had its own set of captains and under- 
officers in command of half and quarter com- 
panies. It was the duty of these new com- 
panies, during a march, whenever the flanks 
needed to close in, to fall back to the rear, so as 
to disencumber the wings. This they did by 
wheeling clear of them. When the sides of the 
oblong again extended, they filled up the inter- 
stices, if the gap were narrow, by columns of 
companies, if broader, by columns of half com- 
panies, or, if broader still, by columns of quar- 
ter companies, so that the space between was 
always filled up. If again it were necessary to 
effect a passage by a bridge or otherwise, there 
was no confusion, the several companies cross- 
ing in turns; or, if the occasion arose to form in 
line of battle, these companies came up to the 
front and fell in. 

In this way they advanced four stages, but 


ANABASIS BOOK III 267 


ere the fifth was completed, they came in sight 
of a palace of some sort, with villages clustered 
round it; they could further see that the road 
leading to this place pursued its course over high 
undulating hillocks, the spur of the mountain 
range, under which lay the village. These knolls 
were a welcome sight to the Hellenes, naturally 
enough, as the enemy were cavalry. However, 
when they had issued from the plain and 
ascended the first crest, and were in the act of 
descending it so as to mount the next, at this 
juncture the barbarians came upon them. From 
the high ground down the sheer steep they 
poured a volley of darts, sling-stones, and ar- 
rows, which they discharged “under the lash,” 
wounding many, until they got the better of the 
Hellenic light troops, and drove them for shel- 
ter behind the heavy infantry, so that this day 
that arm was altogether useless, huddling in the 
mob of sutlers, both slingers and archers alike. 

But when the Hellenes, being so pressed, made 
an attempt to pursue, they could barely scale 
to the summit, being heavy-armed troops, while 
the enemy as lightly sprung away; and they suf- 
fered similarly in retiring to join the rest of the 
army. And then, on the second hill, the whole 
had to be gone through again; so that when it 
came to the third hillock, they determined not 
to move the main body of troops from their po- 
sition until they had brought up a division of 


208 XENOPHON 


light infantry from the right flank of the square 
to a point on the mountain range. When this 
detachment were once posted above their pur- 
suers, the latter desisted from attacking the main 
body in its descent, for fear of being cut off 
and finding themselves between two assailants. 
Thus the rest of the day they moved on in two 
divisions: one set keeping to the road by the hil- 
locks, the other marching parallel on the higher 
level along the mountains; and thus they reached 
the villages and appointed eight surgeons to at- 
tend to the many wounded. 

Here they halted three days for the sake of 
the wounded chiefly, while a further inducement 
was the plentiful supply of provisions which they 
found, wheat and wine, and large stores of bar- 
ley laid up for horses. These supplies had been 
collected by the ruling satrap of the country. 
On the fourth day they began their descent into 
the plain; but when Tissaphernes with his force 
overtook them, necessity taught them to camp 
in the first village they caught sight of, and give 
over the attempt of marching and fighting simul- 
taneously, as so many were hors de combat, be- 
ing either on the list of wounded themselves, or 
else engaged in carrying the wounded, or laden 
with the heavy arms of those so occupied. But 
when they were once encamped, and the bar- 
barians, advancing upon the village, made an 
attempt to harass them with their sharpshooters, 


ANABASIS BOOK III 269 


the superiority of the Hellenes was pronounced. 
To sustain a running fight with an enemy con- 
stantly attacking was one thing; to keep him at 
arm’s length from a fixed base of action an- 
other: and the difference was much in their fa- 
vour. 

But when it was late afternoon, the time had 
come for the enemy to withdraw, since the habit 
of the barbarian was never to encamp within 
seven or eight miles of the Hellenic camp. This 
he did in apprehension of a night attack, for a 
Persian army is good for nothing at night. 
Their horses are haltered, and, as a rule, hobbled 
as well, to prevent their escaping, as they might 
if loose; so that, if any alarm occurs, the trooper 
has to saddle and bridle his horse, and then he 
must put on his own cuirass, and then mount— 
all which performances are difficult at night in 
the midst of confusion. For this reason they 
always encamped at a distance from the Hel- 
lenes. 

When the Hellenes perceived that they were 
preparing to retire, and that the order was being 
given, the herald’s cry, “ Pack up for starting,” 
might be heard before the enemy was fairly out 
of earshot. For a while the Asiatics paused, as 
if unwilling to be gone; but as night closed in, 
off they went, for it did not suit their notions of 
expediency to set off on a march and arrive by 
night. And now, when the Hellenes saw that 


270 XENOPHON 


they were really and clearly gone, they too broke 
up their camp and pursued their march till they 
had traversed seven and a half miles. Thus the 
distance between the two armies grew to be so 
great, that the next day the enemy did not ap- 
pear at all, nor yet the third day; but on the 
fourth the barbarians had pushed on by a forced 
night march and occupied a commanding posi- 
tion on the right, where the Hellenes had to pass. 
It was a narrow mountain spur overhanging the 
descent into the plain. 

But when Cheirisophus saw that this ridge 
was occupied, he summoned Xenophon from 
the rear, bidding him at the same time to bring 
up the peltasts to the front. That Xenophon 
hesitated to do, for Tissaphernes and his whole 
army were coming up and were well within 
sight. Galloping up to the front himself, he 
asked: “Why do you summon me?” The 
other answered him: “ The reason is plain; look 
yonder; this crest which overhangs our descent 
has been occupied. There is no passing, until 
we have dislodged these fellows; why have you 
not brought up the light infantry?” Xenophon 
explained: he had not thought it desirable to 
leave the rear unprotected, with an enemy ap- 
pearing in the field of view. “ However, it is 
time,” he added, “ἕο decide how we are to dis- 
lodge these fellows from the crest.” At this 
moment his eye fell on the peak of the mountain, 


ANABASIS BOOK III 271 


rising immediately above their army, and he 
could see an approach leading from it to the 
crest in question where the enemy lay. He ex- 
claimed: “The best thing we can do, Cheiri- 
sophus, is to make a dash at the height itself, 
and with what speed we may. If we take it, the 
party in command of the road will never be able 
to stop. If you like, stay in command of the 
army, and I will go; or, if you prefer, do you 
go at the mountain, and I will stay here.” “1 
leave it to you,” Cheirisophus answered, “to 
choose which you like best.”” Xenophon remark- 
ing, “I am the younger,” elected to go; but he 
stipulated for a detachment from the front to 
accompany him, since it was a long way to fetch 
up troops from the rear. Accordingly Cheiri- 
sophus furnished him with the light infantry 
from the front, reoccupying their place by those 
from the centre. He also gave him, to form 
part of the detachment, the three hundred of the 
picked corps under his own command at the head 
of the square. 

They set out from the low ground with all 
haste imaginable. But the enemy in position on 
the crest no sooner perceived their advance upon 
the summit of the pass than they themselves set 
off full tilt in a rival race for the summit too, 
Hoarse were the shouts from the Hellenic troops 
as the men cheered their companions forward, 
and hoarse the answering shout from the troops 


272 XENOPHON 


of Tissaphernes, urging on theirs. “Xenophon, 
mounted on his charger, rode beside his men, 
and roused their ardour the while. “‘ Now for it, 
brave sirs; bethink you that the race is for Hel- 
las!—now or never!—to find your boys, your 
wives; one small effort, and the rest of the march 
we shall pursue in peace, without ever a blow 
to strike; now for it.” But Soteridas the 
Sicyonian said: ‘“ We are not on equal terms, 
Xenophon; you are mounted on a horse; I can 
hardly get along with my shield to carry; ” and 
he, on hearing the reproach, leapt from his 
horse. In another instant he had pushed Soteri- 
das from the ranks, snatched from him his 
shield, and begun marching as quickly as he 
might under the circumstances, having his horse- 
man’s cuirass to carry as well, so that he was sore 
pressed; but he continued to cheer on the troops: 
exhorting those in front to lead on and the men 
toiling behind to follow up. Soteridas was not 
spared by the rest of the men. They gave him 
blows, they pelted him, they showered him with 
‘abuse, till they compelled him to take back his 
shield and march on; and the other, remounting, 
led them on horseback as long as the footing | 
held; but when the ground became too steep, he 
left his horse and pressed forward on foot, and 
so they found themselves on the summit before 
the enemy. 

V.—There and then the barbarians turned and 


ANABASIS BOOK III 278 


fled as best they might, and the Hellenes held 
the summit, while the troops with 'Tissaphernes 
and Arius turned aside and disappeared by an- 
other road. ‘The main body with Cheirisophus 
made its way down into the plain and encamped 
in a village filled with good things of divers 
sorts. Nor did this village stand alone; there 
were others not a few in this plain of the Tigris 
equally overflowing with plenty. It was now 
afternoon; and all of a sudden the enemy came 
in sight on the plain, and succeeded in cutting 
down some of the Hellenes belonging to parties 
who were scattered over the flat land in quest 
of spoil. Indeed, many herds of cattle had been 
caught whilst being conveyed across to the other 
side of the river. And now Tissaphernes and his 
troops made an attempt to burn the villages, and 
some of the Hellenes were disposed to take the 
matter deeply to heart, being apprehensive that 
they might not know where to get provisions if 
the enemy burnt the villages. 

Cheirisophus and his men were returning from 
their sally of defence when Xenophon and his 
party descended, and the latter rode along the 
ranks as the rescuing party came up, and greeted 
them thus: “Do you not see, men of Hellas, 
they admit that the country is now ours; what 
they stipulated against our doing when they 
made the treaty, viz., that we were not to fire the 
king’s country, they are now themselves doing, 


274 XENOPHON 


—setting fire to it as if it were not their own. 
But we will be even with them; if they leave 
provisions for themselves anywhere, there also 
shall they see us marching;” and, turning to 
Cheirisophus, he added: “ But it strikes me, we 
should sally forth against these incendiaries and 
protect our country.” Cheirisophus retorted: 
“That is not quite my view; I say, let us do a 
little burning ourselves, and they will cease all 
the quicker.” | 
When they had got back to the villages, while 
the rest were busy about provisions, the generals 
and officers met: and here there was deep de- 
spondency. For on the one side were exceed- 
ingly high mountains; on the other a river of 
such depth that they failed to reach the bottom 
with their spears. In the midst of their per- 
plexities, a Rhodian came up with a proposal, as 
follows: “I am ready, sirs, to carry you across, 
four thousand heavy infantry at a time; if you 
will furnish me with what I need and give me a 
talent into the bargain for my pains.’ When 
asked, “ What shall you need?” he replied: 
“Two thousand wine-skins. I see there are 
plenty of sheep and goats and asses. They have 
only to be flayed, and their skins inflated, and 
they will readily give us a passage. I shall want 
also the straps which you use for the baggage 
animals. With these I shall couple the skins 
to one another; then I shall moor each skin by 


ANABASIS BOOK III 275 


attaching stones and letting them down like an- 
chors into the water. Then I shall carry them 
across, and when I have fastened the links at 
both ends, I shall place layers of wood on them 
and a coating of earth on the top of that. You 
will see in a minute that there’s no danger of 
your drowning, for every skin will be able to 
support a couple of men without sinking, and 
the wood and earth will prevent your slipping 
on. 

The generals thought it a pretty invention 
enough, but its realisation impracticable, for on 
the other side were masses of cavalry posted 
ready to bar the passage; who, to begin with, 
would not suffer the first detachment of crossers 
to carry out any item of the programme. 

Under these circumstances, the next day they 
turned right about face, and began retracing 
their steps in the direction of Babylon to the 
unburnt villages, having previously set fire to 
those they left, so that the enemy did not ride 
up to them, but stood and stared, all agape to 
see in what direction the Helenes would betake 
themselves and what they were minded to do. 
Here, again, while the rest of the soldiers were 
busy about provisions, the generals and officers 
met in council, and after collecting the prison- 
ers together, submitted them to a cross-examin- 
ation touching the whole country round, the 
names, and so forth, of each district. 


276 XENOPHON 


The prisoners informed them that the regions 
south, through which they had come, belonged 
to the district towards Babylon and Media; the 
road east led to Susa and Ecbatana, where the 
king is said to spend summer and spring; cross- 
ing the river, the road west led to Lydia and 
Ionia; and the part through the mountains fac- 
ing towards the Great Bear, led, they said, to 
the Carduchians.’ They were a people, so said 
the prisoners, dwelling up on the hills, addicted 
to war, and not subject to the king; so much so 
that once, when a royal army one hundred and 
twenty thousand strong had invaded them, not 
a man came back, owing to the intricacies of the 
country. Occasionally, however, they made 
truce or treaty with the satrap in the plain, and, 
for the nonce, there would be intercourse: “ they 
will come in and out amongst us,” “and we will 
go in and out amongst them,” said the captives. 

After hearing these statements, the generals 
seated apart those who claimed to have any spe- 


7 The Karduchians or Kurds belong by speech to the Iranian 
stock, forming in fact their farthest outpost to the west, little 
given to agriculture, but chiefly to the breeding of cattle. Their 
name first appears in its narrower sense in western literature in 
the pages of the eye-witness Xenophon. Later writers knew of 
a small kingdom here at the time of the Roman occupation, 
ruled by native princes, who after Tigranes II. (about 80 8. c.) 
recognised the overlordship of the Armenian king. Later it be- 
came a province of the Sassanid kingdom, and as such was in 
297 a. p. handed over among the regiones transtigritane to the 
Roman empire, but in 364 was again ceded to Persia. 


ANABASIS BOOK III 277 


cial knowledge of the country in any direction; 
they put them to sit apart without making it 
clear which particular route they intended to 
take. Finally the resolution to which they came 
was that they must force a passage through the 
hills into the territory of the Kurds; since, ac- 
cording to what their informants told them, when 
they had once passed these, they would find 
themselves in Armenia—the rich and large ter- 
ritory governed by Orontas; and from Armenia, 
it would be easy to proceed in any direction 
whatever. Thereupon they offered sacrifice, so 
as to be ready to start on the march as soon as 
the right moment appeared to have arrived. 
Their chief fear was that the high pass over the 
mountains might be occupied in advance: and a 
general order was issued, that after supper every 
one should get his kit together for starting, and 
repose, in readiness to follow as soon as the word 
of command was given. 


ANABASIS 


BOOK IV 


of the night remained to allow them to 
cross the valley under cover of darkness; 
when, at the word of command, they rose and 
set off on their march, reaching the mountains 
at daybreak. At this stage of the march Cheiri- 
sophus, at the head of his own division, with the 
whole of the light troops, led the van, while 
Xenophon followed behind with the heavy in- 
fantry of the rearguard, but without any light 
troops, since there seemed to be no danger of 
pursuit or attack from the rear, while they were 
making their way up hill. Cheirisophus reached 
the summit without any of the enemy perceiving 
him. Then he led on slowly, and the rest of the 
army followed, wave upon wave, cresting the 
summit and descending into the villages which 
nestled in the hollows and recesses of the hills. 
Thereupon the Carduchians abandoned their 
dwelling-places, and with their wives and chil- 
dren fled to the mountains; so there was plenty 
of provisions to be got for the mere trouble of 
taking, and the homesteads too were well sup- 


plied with a copious store of bronze vessels and 
278 


I: was now about the last watch, and enough 


᾿Ξ oe δ ῶὰΣ τ 2 > 
᾿ “ἜΣ Ne 
- a ᾿ ς - 
ὦ 
᾿ ὦ 
. 
j 
en 
baie oe ts. ~ Ee - me 
ee — 
~ ee - 35 


ee 


= ay Se eee 


Ἶ ‘Stay 


po ἡ τ 


ΡΥ 


ε 


Ψ 


Fy 
eh 


eh “Δύο 


ye - it, 
. ae el 


aap Settee 


+ μκααρεῦ ; ~ 


Diagram showing Construction land omkin gy vl 


0 


hin. Then he led on slowly, and the rest of 


fa Ram on 
the Eighteenth Century, nowviththe | any li 


ANABASIS a | 
age a 


ων sheet tek eae δε no 
ef the night remained to allow oe 
orume the valley under cover of Ὁ aa 
ob cakes ot. tea 
wt off om their warch, resching the m ᾿ 
at Javbrenk. Δ ΒΡ of the marcha eiri- 
_ Battering - division, ith d ad 


a 5 


Rollers. After an ἘΣ ΟΠ 70) Ἢ Ὄ A . ΓΆ, 


“eat 


Ὁ 
iit 


toons, ncBritishe Museum to be no dang 
purvait or attack from the rear, while they we 

waking their way up bill. racist 8 Sa ; 
the sammit without any of the enemy f r 


κύον followed, wave upon wave, crea 
eimemit and descending into the villages: 
nestled in-the hollows and recesses of the h 

Thereupon the Carduchians abandoned ἔ 
dwelling-places, and with their wives and chi 
dren fled to the mountains; so there was pl ent} 
of provisions to be got for the mere troub. εἴ 
taking, snd the homesteads too were well 
plied with a copious <a of bronze vessels ἃ 


| ET on 


TL 
‘ith iM ioe 


oN 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 279 


utensils which the Hellenes kept their hands off, 
abstaining at the same time from all pursuit of 
the folk themselves, gently handling them, in. 
hopes that the Carduchians might be willing to 
give them friendly passage through their coun- 
try, since they too were enemies of the king: 
only they helped themselves to such provisions 
as fell in their way, which indeed was a sheer 
necessity. But the Carduchians neither gave 
ear, when they called to them, nor showed any 
other friendly sign; and now, as the last of the 
Hellenes descended into the villages from the 
pass, they were already in the dark, since, ow- 
ing to the narrowness of the road, the whole day 
had been spent in the ascent and descent. At 
that instant a party of the Carduchians, who had 
collected, made an attack on the hindmost men, 
killing some and wounding others with stones 
and arrows—though it was quite a small body 
who attacked. The fact was, the approach of 
the Hellenic army had taken them by surprise; 
if, however, they had mustered in larger force at 
this time, the chances are that a large portion of 
the army would have been annihilated. As it 
was, they got into quarters, and bivouacked in 
the villages that night, while the Carduchians 
kept many watch-fires blazing in a circle on the 
mountains, and kept each other in sight all 
round. 

But with the dawn the generals and officers 


280 XENOPHON 


of the Hellenes met and resolved to proceed, 
taking only the necessary number of stout bag- 
gage animals, and leaving the weaklings behind. 
They resolved further to let go free all the 
lately-captured slaves in the host; for the pace 
of the march was necessarily rendered slow by 
the quantity of animals and prisoners, and the 
number of non-combatants in attendance on 
these was excessive, while, with such a crowd of 
human beings to satisfy, twice the amount of 
provisions had to be procured and carried. These 
resolutions passed, they caused a proclamation 
by herald to be made for their enforcement. 
When they had breakfasted and the march 
recommenced, the generals planted themselves 
a little to one side in a narrow place, and when 
they found any of the aforesaid slaves or other 
property still retained, they confiscated them. 
The soldiers yielded obedience, except where 
some smuggler, prompted by desire of a good- 
looking boy or woman, managed to make off 
with his prize. During this day they contrived 
to get along after a fashion, now fighting and 
now resting. But on the next day they were vis- 
ited by a great storm, in spite of which they 
were obliged to continue the march, owing to in- 
sufficiency of provisions. Cheirisophus was as 
usual leading in front, while Xenophon headed 
the rearguard, when the enemy began a violent 
and sustained attack. At one narrow place after 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 281 


another they came up quite close, pouring vol- 
leys of arrows and sling-stones, so that the Hel- 
lenes had no choice but to make sallies in pursuit 
and then again recoil, making but very little 
progress. Over and over again Xenophon 
would send an order to the front to slacken pace, 
when the enemy were pressing their attack se- 
verely. As a rule, when the word was so passed 
up, Cheirisophus slackened; but sometimes in- 
stead of slackening, Cheirisophus quickened, 
sending down a counter-order to the rear to fol- 
low on quickly. It was clear that there was 
something or other happening, but there was no 
time to go to the front and discover the cause 
of the hurry. Under these circumstances the 
march, at any rate in the rear, became very like 
a rout, and here a brave man lost his life, Cleony- 
mus the Laconian, shot with an arrow in the ribs 
right through shield and corselet, as also Basias, 
an Arcadian, shot clean through the head. 

As soon as they reached a _halting-place, 
Xenophon, without more ado, came up to Cheiri- 
sophus, and took him to task for not having 
waited, “ whereby,” said he, “we were forced to 
fight and flee at the same moment; and now it 
has cost us the lives of two fine fellows; they 
are dead, and we were not able to pick up their 
bodies or bury them.” Cheirisophus answered, 
“Look up there,” pointing as he spoke to the 
mountain; “do you see how inaccessible it all 


282 XENOPHON 


is? only this one road, which you see, going 
straight up, and on it all that crowd of men who 
have seized and are guarding the single exit. 
That is why I hastened on, and why I could not 
wait for you, hoping to be beforehand with them 
yonder in seizing the pass: the guides we have 
got say there is no other way.” And Xenophon 
replied: “But I have got two prisoners also; 
the enemy annoyed us so much that we laid an 
ambuscade for them which also gave us time to 
recover our breaths; we killed some of them, and 
did our best to catch one or two alive—for this 
very reason—that we might have guides who 
knew the country, to depend upon.” 

The two were brought up at once and ques- 
tioned separately: “Did they know of any 
other road than the one visible?” The first 
said no; and in spite of all sorts of terrors ap- 
plied to extract a better answer—no, he per- 
sisted. When nothing could be got out of him, 
he was killed before the eyes of his fellow. This 
latter then explained: ‘ Yonder man said, he 
did not know, because he has got a daughter 
married to a husband in those parts. I can take 
you,” he added, “by a good road, practicable 
even for beasts.” And when asked whether 
there was any point on it difficult to pass, he re- 
plied that there was a col which it would be 
impossible to pass unless it were occupied in ad- 
vance. 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 283 


Then it was resolved to summon the officers 
of the light infantry and some of those of the 
heavy infantry, and to acquaint them with the 
state of affairs, and ask them whether any of 
them were minded to distinguish themselves, and 
would step forward as volunteers on an expedi- 
tion. ‘Two or three heavy infantry soldiers 
stepped forward at once—two Arcadians, Aris- 
tonymus of Methydrium and Agasias of Stym- 
phalus—and in emulation of these, a third, also 
an Arcadian, Callimachus from Parrhasia, who 
said he was ready to go, and would get volun- 
teers from the whoie army to join him. “I 
know,” he added, “there will be no lack of 
youngsters to follow where 1 lead.” After that 
they asked, “ Were there any captains of light 
infantry willing to accompany the expedition? ” 
Aristeas, a Chian, who on several occasions 
proved his usefulness to the army on such serv- 
ice, volunteered. 

II.—It was already late afternoon, when they 
ordered the storming party to take a snatch of 
food and set off; then they bound the guide and 
handed him over to them. The agreement was, 
that if they succeeded in taking the summit they 
were to guard the position that night, and at 
daybreak to give a signal by bugle. At this sig- 
nal the party on the summit were to attack the 
enemy in occupation of the visible pass, while 
the generals with the main body would bring up 


284 XENOPHON 


their succours; making their way up with what 
speed they might. With this understanding, 
off they set, two thousand strong; and there was 
a heavy downpour of rain, but Xenophon, with 
his rearguard, began advancing to the visible 
pass, so that the enemy might fix his attention 
on this road, and the party creeping round 
might, as much as possible, elude observation. 
Now when the rearguard, so advancing, had 
reached a ravine which they must cross in order 
to strike up the steep, at that instant the bar- 
barians began rolling down great boulders, each 
a wagon load, some larger, some smaller; against 
the rocks they crashed and splintered flying like 
sling-stones in every direction—so that it was 
absolutely out of the question even to approach 
the entrance of the pass. Some of the officers 
finding themselves baulked at this point, kept 
trying other ways, nor did they desist till dark- 
ness set in; and then, when they thought they 
would not be seen retiring, they returned to sup- 
per. Some of them who had been on duty in the 
rearguard had had no breakfast (it so hap- 
pened). However, the enemy never ceased 
rolling down their stones all through the 
night, as was easy to infer from the booming 
sound, 

The party with the guide made a circuit and 
surprised the enemy’s guards seated round their 
fire, and after killing some, and driving out the 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 285 


rest, took their places, thinking that they were 
in possession of the height. As a matter of 
fact they were not, for above them; lay a breast- 
like hill’ skirted by the narrow road on which they 
had found the guards seated. Still, from the 
spot in question there was an approach to the 
enemy, who were seated on the pass before men- 
tioned. 

Here then they passed the night, but at the 
first glimpse of dawn they marched stealthily 
and in battle order against the enemy. There 
was a mist, so that they could get quite close 
without being observed. But as soon as they 
caught sight of one another, the trumpet 
sounded, and with a loud cheer they rushed upon 
the fellows, who did not wait their coming, but 
left the road and made off ; with the loss of only 
a few lives, however, so nimble were they, Cheiri- 
sophus and his men, catching the sound of the 
bugle, charged up by the well-marked road, 
while others of the generals pushed their way 
up by pathless routes, where each division 
chanced to be; the men mounting as they were 
best able, and hoisting one another up by means 
of their spears; and these were the first to unite 
with the party who had already taken the posi- 
tion by storm. Xenophon, with the rearguard, 
followed the path which the party with the guide 
had taken, since it was easiest for the beasts of 
burthen; one half of his men he had posted in 


1 Or, “ mamelon.” 


286 XENOPHON 


rear of the baggage animals; the other half he 
had with himself. In their course they encoun- 
tered a crest above the road, occupied by the en- 
emy, whom they must either dislodge or be them- 
selves cut off from the rest of the Hellenes. The 
men by themselves could have taken the same 
route as the rest, but the baggage animals could 
not mount by any other way than this. 

Here then, with shouts of encouragement to 
each other, they dashed at the hill with their 
storming columns, not from all sides, but leaving 
an avenue of escape for the enemy, if he chose 
to avail himself of it. For a while, as the men 
scrambled up where each best could, the natives 
kept up a fire of arrows and darts, yet did not 
receive them at close quarters, but presently left 
the position in flight. No sooner, however, were 
the Hellenes safely past this crest, than they 
came in sight of another in front of them, also 
occupied, and deemed it advisable to storm it 
also. But now it struck Xenophon that if they 
left the ridge just taken unprotected in their 
rear, the enemy might re-occupy it and attack 
the baggage animals as they filed past, present- 
ing a long extended line owing to the narrow- 
ness of the road by which they made their way. 
To obviate this, he left some officers in charge 
of the ridge—Cephisodorus, son of Cephiso- 
phon, an Athenian; Amphicrates, the son of 
Amphidemus, an Athenian; and Archagoras, 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 287 


an Argive exile—while he in person with 
the rest of the men attacked the second 
ridge; this they took in the same fashion, 
only to find that they had still a third knoll 
left, far the steepest of the three. This 
was none other than the mamelon mentioned as 
above the outpost, which had been captured over 
their fire by the volunteer storming party in the 
night. But when the Hellenes were close, the 
natives, to the astonishment of all, without a 
struggle deserted the knoll. It was conjectured 
that they had left their position from fear of 
being encircled and besieged, but the fact was 
that they, from their higher ground, had been 
able to see what was going on in the rear, and 
had all made off in this fashion to attack the 
rearguard. 

So then Xenophon, with the youngest. men, 
scaled up to the top, leaving orders to the rest 
to march on slowly, so as to allow the hindmost 
companies to unite with them; they were to ad- 
vance by the road, and when they reached the 
level to ground arms. Meanwhile the Argive 
Archagoras arrived, in full flight, with the an- 
nouncement that they had been dislodged from 
the first ridge, and that Cephisodorus and Am- 
phicrates were slain, with a number of others 
besides, all in fact who had not jumped down 
the crags and so reached the rearguard. After 
this achievement the barbarians came to a crest 


288 XENOPHON 


facing the mamelon, and Xenophon held a col- 
loquy with them by means of an interpreter to 
negotiate a truce, and demanded back the dead 
bodies. These they agreed to restore if he would 
not burn their houses, and to these terms Xeno- 
phon agreed. Meanwhile, as the rest of the 
army filed past, and the colloquy was proceed- 
ing, all the people of the place had time to gather 
gradually, and the enemy formed; and as soon 
as the Hellenes began to descend from the 
mamelon to join the others where the troops 
were halted, on rushed the foe, in full force, with 
hue and cry. They reached the summit of the 
mamelon from which Xenophon was descend- 
ing, and began rolling down crags. One man’s 
leg was crushed to pieces. Xenophon was left 
by his shield-bearer, who carried off his shield, 
but Eurylochus of Lusia, an Arcadian hoplite, 
ran up to him, and threw his shield in front to 
protect both of them; so the two together beat 
a retreat, and so too the rest, and joined the ser- 
ried ranks of the main body. 

After this the whole Hellenic force united, 
and took up their quarters there in numerous 
beautiful dwellings, with an ample store of pro- 
visions, for there was wine so plentiful that they 
had it in cemented cisterns. “Xenophon and 
Cheirisophus arranged to recover the dead, and 
in return restored the guide; afterwards they 
did everything for the dead, according to the 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 289 


means at their disposal, with the customary hon- 
ours paid to good men. 

Next day they set off without a guide; and 
the enemy, by keeping up a continuous battle 
and occupying in advance every narrow space, 
obstructed passage after passage. Accordingly, 
whenever the van was obstructed, Xenophon, 
from behind, made a dash up the hills and broke 
the barricade, and freed the vanguard by en- 
deavouring to get above the obstructing enemy. 
Whenever the rear was the point attacked, Chei- 
risophus, in the same way made a détour, and by 
endeavouring to mount higher than the barri- 
cades, freed the passage for the rear rank; and 
in this way, turn and turn about, they rescued 
each other, and paid unflinching attention to 
their mutual needs. At times it happened that, 
the relief party having mounted, encountered 
considerable annoyance in their descent from the 
barbarians, who were so agile that they allowed 
them to come up quite close, before they turned 
back, and still escaped, partly no doubt because 
the only weapons they had to carry were bows 
and slings. 

They were, moreover, excellent archers, using 
bows nearly three cubits long and arrows more 
than two cubits. When discharging the arrow, 
they draw the string by getting a purchase with 
the left foot planted forward on the lower end 
of the bow. The arrows pierced through shield 


290 XENOPHON 


and cuirass, and the Hellenes, when they got 
hold of them, used them as javelins, fitting them 
to their thongs. In these districts the Cretans 
were highly serviceable. They were under the 
command of Stratocles, a Cretan. 
I11.—During this day they bivouacked in the 
villages which lie above the plain of the river 
Centrites,? which is about two hundred feet 
broad. It. is the frontier river between Armenia 
and the country of the Carduchians. Here the 
Hellenes recruited themselves, and the sight of 
the plain filled them with joy, for the river was 
but six or seven furlongs distant from the moun- 
tains of the Carduchians. For the moment then 
they bivouacked right happily; they had their 
provisions, they had also many memories of the 
labours that were now passed; seeing that the 
last seven days spent in traversing the country 
of the Carduchians had been one long contin- 
uous battle, which had cost them more suffering 
than the whole of their troubles at the hands of 
the king and Tissaphernes put together. As 
though they were truly quit of them for ever, 
they laid their heads to rest in sweet content. 
But with the morrow’s dawn they espied 
horsemen at a certain point across the river, 
armed cap-a-pie, as if they meant to dispute the 
passage. Infantry, too, drawn up in line upon 
the banks above the cavalry, threatened to pre- 
21. e., the Eastern Tigris. 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 291 


vent them debouching into Armenia. These 
troops were Armenian and Mardian and Chal- 
dean mercenaries belonging to Orontas and 
Artuchas. The last of the three, the Chaldzans, 
were said to be a free and brave set of people. 
They were armed with long wicker shields and 
lances. The banks before named on which they 
were drawn up were a hundred yards or more 
distant from the river, and the single road which 
was visible was one leading upwards and look- 
ing like a regular artificially constructed high- 
way. At this point the Hellenes endeavoured 
to cross, but on their making the attempt the 
water proved to be more than breast-deep, and 
the river bed was rough with great slippery 
stones, and as to holding their arms in the water, 
it was out of the question—the stream swept 
them away—or if they tried to carry them over 
the head, the body was left exposed to the ar- 
rows and other missiles; accordingly they turned 
back and encamped there by the bank of the 
river. 

At the point where they had themselves been 
last night, up on the mountains, they could see 
the Carduchians collected in large numbers and 
under arms. A shadow of deep despair again 
descended on their souls, whichever way they 
turned their eyes—in front lay the river so dif- 
ficult to ford; over, on the other side, a new 
enemy threatening to bar the passage; on the 


292 XENOPHON 


hills behind, the Carduchians ready to fall upon 
their rear should they once again attempt to 
cross. Thus for this day and night they halted, 
sunk in perplexity. But Xenophon had a dream, 
In his sleep he thought that he was bound in 
fetters, but these, of their own accord, fell from 
off him, so that he was loosed, and could stretch 
his legs as freely as he wished. So at the first 
glimpse of daylight he came to Cheirisophus and 
told him that he had hopes that all things would 
go well, and related to him his dream. 

The other was well pleased, and with the first 
faint gleam of dawn the generals all were pres- 
ent and did sacrifice; and the victims were fa- 
vourable at the first essay. Retiring from the 
sacrifice, the generals and officers issued an 
order to the troops to take their breakfasts; and 
while Xenophon was taking his, two young men 
came running up to him, for every one knew 
that, breakfasting or supping, he was always 
accessible, or that even if asleep any one was 
welcome to awaken him who had anything to 
say bearing on the business of war. What the 
two young men had at this time to say was that 
they had been collecting brushwood for fire, and 
had presently espied on the opposite side, in 
among some rocks which came down to the 
river’s brink, an old man and some women and 
little girls depositing, as it would appear, bags 
of clothes in a cavernous rock. When they saw 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 293 


them, it struck them that it was safe to cross; 
in any case, the enemy’s cavalry could not ap- 
proach at this point. So they stripped naked, 
expecting to have to swim for it, and with their 
long knives in their hands began crossing, but 
going forward crossed without being wet up to 
the fork. Once across they captured the clothes, 
and came back again. 

Accordingly Xenophon at once poured out a 
libation himself, and bade the two young fel- 
lows fill the cup and pray to the gods, who 
showed to him this vision and to them a passage, 
to bring all other blessings for them to accom- 
plishment. When he had poured out the liba- 
tions, he at once led the two young men to Chei- 
risophus, and they repeated to him their story. 
Cheirisophus, on hearing it, offered libations 
also, and when they had performed them, they 
sent a general order to the troops to pack up 
ready for starting, while they themselves called 
a meeting of the generals and took counsel how 
they might best effect a passage, so as to over- 
power the enemy in front without suffering any 
loss from the men behind. And they resolved 
that Cheirisophus should lead the van and cross 
with half the army, the other half still remain- 
ing behind under Xenophon, while the baggage 
animals and the mob of sutlers were to cross 
between the two divisions. 

When all was duly ordered the move began, 


294 XENOPHON 


the young men pioneering them, and keeping 
the river on their left. It was about four fur- 
longs’ march to the crossing, and as they moved 
along the bank, the squadrons of cavalry kept 
pace with them on the opposite side. 

But when they had reached a point in a line 
with the ford, and the cliff-like banks of the 
river, they grounded arms, and first Cheiriso- 
phus himself placed a wreath upon his brows, 
and throwing off his cloak, resumed his arms, 
passing the order to all the rest to do the same, 
and bade the captains form their companies in 
open order in deep columns, some to left and 
some to right of himself. Meanwhile the sooth- 
sayers were slaying a victim over the river, and 
the enemy were letting fly their arrows and 
slingstones; but as yet they were out of range. 
As soon as the victims were favourable, all the 
soldiers began singing the battle hymn, and with 
the notes of the pean mingled the shouting of 
the men accompanied by the shriller chant of the 
women, for there were many women in the 
camp. 

So Cheirisophus with his detachment stept in. 
But Xenophon, taking the most active-bodied 
of the rearguard, began running back at full 
speed to the passage facing the egress into the 
hills of Armenia, making a feint of crossing at 
that point to intercept their cavalry on the river 
bank. The enemy, seeing Cheirisophus’s de- 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 295 


tachment easily crossing the stream, and Xeno- 
phon’s men racing back, were seized with the 
fear of being intercepted, and fled at full speed 
in the direction of the road which emerges from 
the stream. But when they were come opposite 
to it they raced up hill towards their mountains. 
Then Lycius, who commanded the cavalry, and 
Alschines, who was in command of the division 
of light infantry attached to Cheirisophus, no 
sooner saw them fleeing so lustily than they 
were after them, and the soldiers shouted not 
to fall behind, but to follow them right up to 
the mountains. Cheirisophus, on getting across, 
forbore to pursue the cavalry, but advanced by 
the bluffs which reached to the river to attack 
the enemy overhead. And these, seeing their 
own cavalry fleeing, seeing also the heavy in- 
fantry advancing upon them, abandoned the 
heights above the river. 

Xenophon, as soon as he saw that things were 
going well on the other side, fell back with all 
speed to join the troops engaged in crossing, 
for by this time the Carduchians were well in 
sight, descending into the plain to attack their 
rear. 

Cheirisophus was in possession of the higher 
ground, and Lycius, with his little squadron, in 
an attempt to follow up the pursuit, had cap- 
tured some stragglers of their baggage-bearers, 
and with them some handsome apparel and 


296 XENOPHON 


drinking-cups. The baggage animals of the 
Hellenes and the mob of non-combatants were 
just about to cross, when Xenophon turned his 
troops right about to face the Carduchians. 
Vis-a-vis he formed his line, passing the order 
to the captains each to form his company into 
sections, and to deploy them into line by the 
left, the captains of companies and lieutenants 
in command of sections to advance to meet the 
Carduchians, while the rear leaders would keep 
their position facing the river. But when the 
Carduchians saw the rearguard so stript of the 
mass, and looking now like a mere handful of 
men, they advanced all the more quickly, sing- 
ing certain songs the while. Then, as matters 
were safe with him, Cheirisophus sent back the 
peltasts and slingers and archers to join Xeno- 
phon, with orders to carry out his instructions. 
They were in the act of recrossing, when Xeno- 
phon, who saw their intention, sent a messenger 
across, bidding them wait there at the river’s 
brink without crossing; but as soon as he and his 
detachment began to cross they were to step in 
facing him in two flanking divisions right and 
left of them, as if in the act of crossing; the jav- 
elin men with their javelins on the thong, and the 
bowmen with their arrows on the string; but 
they were not to advance far into the stream. 
The order passed to his own men was: “ Wait 
till you are within sling-shot, and the shield rat- 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 297 


tles, then sound the pan and charge the enemy. 
As soon as he turns, and the bugle from the 
river sounds for ‘ the attack,’ you will face about 
to the right, the rear rank leading, and the whole 
detachment falling back and crossing the river 
as quickly as possible, every one preserving his 
original rank, so as to avoid trammelling one 
another: the bravest man is he who gets to the 
other side first.” 

The Carduchians, seeing that the remnant 
left was the merest handful (for many even of 
those whose duty it was to remain had gone off 
in their anxiety to protect their beasts of bur- 
den, or their personal kit, or their mistresses), 
bore down upon them valorously, and opened 
fire with slingstones and arrows. But the Hel- 
lenes, raising the battle hymn, dashed at them 
at a run, and they did not await them; armed 
well enough for mountain warfare, and with a 
view to sudden attack followed by speedy flight, 
they were not by any means sufficiently equipped 
for an engagement at close quarters. At this 
instant the signal of the bugle was heard. Its 
notes added wings to the flight of the barbar- 
ians, but the Hellenes turned right about in the 
opposite direction, and betook themselves to the 
river with what speed they might. Some of the 
enemy, here a man and there another, perceived, 
and running back to the river, let fly their ar- 
rows and wounded a few; but the majority, even 


298 XENOPHON 


when the Hellenes were well across, were still 
to be seen pursuing their flight. The detach- 
ment which came to meet Xenophon’s men, car- 
ried away by their valour, advanced further 
than they had need to, and had to cross back 
again in the rear of Xenophon’s men, and of 
these too a few were wounded. 

IV.—The passage effected, they fell into line 
about midday, and marched through Armenian 
territory, one long plain with smooth rolling 
hillocks, not less than five parasangs in distance; 
for owing to the wars of this people with the 
Carduchians there were no villages near the 
river. The village eventually reached was 
large, and possessed a palace belonging to the 
satrap, and most of the houses were crowned 
with turrets; provisions were plentiful. 

From this village they marched two stages— 
ten parasangs—until they had surmounted the 
sources of the river Tigris; and from this point 
they marched three stages—fifteen parasangs-— 
to the river Teleboas. This was a fine stream, 
though not large, and there were many villages 
about it. The district was named Western Ar- 
menia. The lieutenant-governor of it was Tiri- 
bazus, the king’s friend, and whenever the latter 
paid a visit, he alone had the privilege of mount- 
ing the king upon his horse. This officer rode 
up to the Hellenes with a body of cavalry, and 
sending forward an interpreter, stated that he 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 299 


desired a colloquy with the leaders. The gen- 
erals resolved to hear what he had to say; and 
advancing on their side to within speaking dis- 
tance, they demanded what he wanted. He re- 
plied that he wished to make a treaty with them, 
in accordance with which he on his side would 
abstain from injuring the Hellenes, if they 
would not burn his houses, but merely take such 
provisions as they needed. This proposal satis- 
fied the generals, and a treaty was made on the 
terms suggested. 

From this place they marched three stages— 
fifteen parasangs—through plain country, Tiri- 
bazus the while keeping close behind with his 
own forces more than a mile off. Presently 
they reached a palace with villages clustered 
round it, which were full of supplies in great 
variety. But while they were encamping in the 
night there was a heavy fall of snow, and in 
the morning it was resolved to billet out the dif- 
ferent regiments, with their generals, through- 
out the villages. ‘There was no enemy in sight, 
and the proceeding seemed prudent, owing to 
the quantity of snow. In these quarters they 
had for provisions all the good things there are 
—sacrificial beasts, corn, old wines with an ex- 
quisite bouquet, dried grapes, and vegetables of 
all sorts. But some of the stragglers from the 
camp reported having seen an army, and the 
blaze of many watchfires in the night. Accord- 


800 XENOPHON 


ingly the generals concluded that it was not 
prudent to separate their quarters in this way, 
and a resolution was passed to bring the troops 
together again. After that they reunited, the 
more so that the weather promised to be fine 
with a clear sky; but while they lay there in 
open quarters, during the night down came so 
thick a fall of snow that it completely covered 
up the stacks of arms and the men themselves 
lying down. It cramped and crippled the bag- 
gage animals; and there was great unreadiness 
to get up, so gently fell the snow as they lay 
there warm and comfortable, and formed a 
blanket, except where it slipped off the sleeper’s 
shoulders; and it was not until Xenophon roused 
himself to get up, and, without his cloak on,° 
began to split wood, that quickly first one and 
then another got up, and taking the log away 
from him, fell to splitting. Thereat the rest 
followed suit, got up, and began kindling fires 
and oiling their bodies, for there was a scented 
unguent to be found there in abundance, which 
they used instead of oil. It was made from 
pig’s fat, sesame, bitter almonds, and turpen- 
tine. ‘There was a sweet oil also to be found, 
made of the same ingredients. 


3 Or, as we should say, “in his shirt sleeves.’ Doubtless he 
lay with his cloak loosely wrapped round him; as he sprang 
to his feet he would throw it off, or it would fall off, and with 
the simple inner covering to protect him, and arms free, he fell 
to chopping the wood, only half clad. 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 301 


After this it was resolved that they must 
again separate their quarters and get under 
cover in the villages. At this news the soldiers, 
with much joy and shouting, rushed upon the 
covered houses and the provisions; but all who 
in their blind folly had set fire to the houses 
when they left them before, now paid the pen- 
alty in the poor quarters they got. From this 
place one night they sent off a party under De- 
mocrates, a Temenite, up into the mountains, 
where the stragglers reported having seen watch- 
fires. The leader selected was a man whose 
judgment might be depended upon to verify the 
truth of the matter. With a happy gift to dis- 
tinguish between fact and fiction, he had often 
been successfully appealed to. He went and 
reported that he had seen no watchfires, but he 
had got a man, whom he brought back with him, 
carrying a Persian bow and quiver, and a sa- 
garis or battleaxe like those worn by the Ama- 
zons. When asked “from what country he 
came,” the prisoner answered that he was “a 
Persian, and was going from the army of Tiri- 
bazus to get provisions.” 'They next asked him 
“how large the army was, and for what object 
it had been collected.” His answer was that 
“it consisted of Tiribazus at the head of his 
own forces, and aided by some Chalybian and 
Taochian mercenaries. 'Tiribazus had got it to- 
gether,” he added, “ meaning to attack the Hel- 


802 XENOPHON 


lenes on the high mountain pass, in a defile which 
was the sole passage.” 

When the generals heard this news, they re- 
solved to collect the troops, and they set off at 
once, taking the prisoner to act as guide, and 
leaving a garrison behind with Sophenetus the 
Stymphalian in command of those who remained 
in the camp. As soon as they had begun to 
cross the hills, the light infantry, advancing in 
front and catching sight of the camp, did not 
wait for the heavy infantry, but with a loud 
shout rushed upon the enemy’s entrenchment. 
The natives, hearing the din and clatter, did not 
care to stop, but took rapidly to their heels. But, 
for all their expedition, some of them were 
killed, and as many as twenty horses were cap- 
tured, with the tent of Tiribazus, and its con- 
tents, silver-footed couches and goblets, besides 
certain persons styling themselves the butlers 
and bakers. As soon as the generals of the 
heavy infantry division had learnt the news, 
they resolved to return to the camp with all 
speed, for fear of an attack being made on the 
remnant left behind. The recall was sounded 
and the retreat commenced; the camp was 
reached the same day. 

V.—The next day it was resolved that they 
should set off with all possible speed, before the 
enemy had time to collect and occupy the defile. 
Having got their kit and baggage together, they 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 808 


at once began their march through deep snow 
with several guides, and, crossing the high pass 
the same day on which Tiribazus was to have 
attacked them, got safely into cantonments. 
From this point they marched three desert 
stages—fifteen parasangs—to the river Eu- 
phrates, and crossed it in water up to the waist. 
The sources of the river were reported to be 
at no great distance. From this place they 
marched through deep snow over a flat country 
three stages—fifteen parasangs. The last of 
these marches was trying, with the north wind 
blowing in their teeth, drying up everything and 
benumbing the men. Here one of the seers sug- 
gested to them to do sacrifice to Boreas, and 
sacrifice was done. The effect was obvious to 
all in the diminished fierceness of the blast. But 
there was six feet of snow, so that many of the 
baggage animals and slaves were lost, and about 
thirty of the men themselves. 

They spent the whole night in kindling fire; 
for there was fortunately no dearth of wood at 
the halting-place; only those who came late into 
camp had no wood. Accordingly those who had 
arrived a good while and had kindled fires were 
not for allowing these late-comers near their 
fires, unless they would in return give a share of 
their corn or of any other victuals they might 
have. Here then a general exchange of goods 
was set up. Where the fire was kindled the 


804 XENOPHON 


snow melted, and great trenches formed them- 
selves down to the bare earth, and here it was 
possible to measure the depth of the snow. 

Leaving these quarters, they marched the 
whole of the next day over snow, and many of 
the men were afflicted with “boulimia” (or 
hunger-faintness). Xenophon, who was guard- 
ing the rear, came upon some men who had 
dropt down, and he did not know what ailed 
them; but some one who was experienced in such 
matters suggested to him that they had evi- 
dently got boulimia; and if they got something 
to eat, they would revive. Then he went the 
round of the baggage train, and laying an em- 
bargo on any eatables he could see, doled out 
with his own hands, or sent off other able-bodied 
agents to distribute to the sufferers, who as soon 
as they had taken a mouthful got on their legs 
again and continued the march. 

On and on they marched, and about dusk 
Cheirisophus reached a village, and surprised 
some women and girls who had come from the 
village to fetch water at the fountain outside the 
stockade. These asked them who they were. The 
interpreters answered for them in Persian: 
“They were on their way from the king to the 
satrap; ” in reply to which the women gave them 
to understand that the satrap was not at home, 
but was away a parasang farther on. As it was 
late they entered with the water-carriers within 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 305 


the stockade to visit the headman of the village. 
Accordingly Cheirisophus and as many of the 
troops as were able got into cantonments there, 
while the rest of the soldiers—those namely who 
were unable to complete the march—had to 
spend the night out, without food and without 
fire; under the circumstances some of the men 
perished. 

On the heels of the army hung perpetually 
bands of the enemy, snatching away disabled 
baggage animals and fighting with each other 
over the carcasses. And in its track not seldom 
were left to their fate disabled soldiers, struck 
down with snow-blindness or with toes mortified 
by frostbite. As to the eyes, it was some allevi- 
ation against the snow to march with something 
black before them; for the feet, the only remedy 
was to keep in motion without stopping for an 
instant, and to loose the sandal at night. If 
they went to sleep with the sandals on, the thong 
worked into the feet, and the sandals were 
frozen fast to them. This was partly due to 
the fact that, since their old sandals had failed, 
they wore untanned brogues made of newly- 
flayed ox-hides. It was owing to some such dire 
necessity that a party of men fell out and were 
left behind, and seeing a black-looking patch of 
ground where the snow had evidently disap- 
peared, they conjectured it must have been 
melted; and this was actually so, owing to a 


806 XENOPHON 


spring of some sort which was to be seen steam- 
ing up in a dell close by. To this they had 
turned aside and sat down, and were loth to go 
a step further. But Xenophon, with his rear- 
guard, perceived them, and begged and im- 
plored them by all manner of means not to be 
left behind, telling them that the enemy were 
after them in large packs pursuing; and he 
ended by growing angry. ‘They merely bade 
him put a knife to their throats; not one step 
farther would they stir. Then it seemed best to 
frighten the pursuing enemy if possible, and 
prevent their falling upon the invalids. It was 
already dusk, and the pursuers were advancing 
with much noise and hubbub, wrangling and dis- 
puting over the spoils. Then all of a sudden 
the rearguard, in the plenitude of health and 
strength, sprang up out of their lair and ran 
upon the enemy, whilst those weary wights 
bawled out as loud as their sick throats could 
sound, and dashed their spears against their 
shields; and the enemy in terror hurled 
themselves through the snow into the dell, 
and not one of them ever uttered a sound 
again, 

Xenophon and his party, telling the sick folk 
that next day people would come for them, set 
off, and before they had gone half a mile they 
fell in with some soldiers who had laid down to 
rest on the snow with their cloaks wrapped 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 307 


round them, but never a guard was established, 
and they made them get up. Their explanation 
was that those in front would not move on. 
Passing by this group he sent forward the 
strongest of his light infantry in advance, with 
orders to find out what the stoppage was. They 
reported that the whole army lay reposing in 
the same fashion. That being so, Xenophon’s 
men had nothing for it but to bivouac in the 
open air also, without fire and _ supperless, 
merely posting what pickets they could under 
the circumstances. But as soon as it drew to- 
wards day, Xenophon despatched the youngest 
of his men to the sick folk behind, with orders 
to make them get up and force them to proceed. 
Meanwhile Cheirisophus had sent some of his 
men quartered in the village to enquire how 
they fared in the rear; they were overjoyed to 
see them, and handed over the sick folk to them 
to carry into camp, while they themselves con- 
tinued their march forwards, and ere twenty 
furlongs were past reached the village in which 
Cheirisophus was quartered. As soon as the two 
divisions were met, the resolution was come to 
that it would be safe to billet the regiments 
throughout the villages; Cheirisophus remained 
where he was, while the rest drew lots for the 
villages in sight, and then, with their several de- 
tachments, marched off to their respective des- 
tinations. 


808 XENOPHON 


It was here that Polycrates, an Athenian and 
captain of a company, asked for leave of ab- 
sence—he wished to be off on a quest of his 
own; and putting himself at the head of the 
active men of the division, he ran to the village 
which had been allotted to Xenophon. He sur- 
prised within it the villagers with their headman, 
and seventeen young horses which were being 
reared as a tribute for the king, and, last of all, 
the headman’s own daughter, a young bride only 
eight days wed. Her husband had gone off to 
chase hares, and so he escaped being taken with 
the other villagers. 'The houses were under- 
ground structures with an aperture like the 
mouth of a well by which to enter, but they were 
broad and spacious below. The entrance for the 
beasts of burden was dug out, but the human 
occupants descended by a ladder. In these 
dwellings were to be found goats and sheep and 
cattle, and cocks and hens, with their various 
progeny. The flocks and herds were all reared 
under cover upon green food. ‘There were 
stores within of wheat and barley and vege- 
tables, and wine made from barley in great big 
bowls; the grains of barley malt lay floating in 
the beverage up to the lip of the vessel, and 
reeds lay in them, some longer, some shorter, 
without joints; when you were thirsty you must 
take one of these into your mouth, and suck. 
The beverage without admixture of water was 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 309 


very strong, and of a delicious flavour to certain 
palates, but the taste must be acquired. 

Xenophon made the headman of the village 
his guest at supper, and bade him keep a good 
heart; so far from robbing him of his children, 
they would fill his house full of good things in 
return for what they took before they went 
away; only he must set them an example, and 
discover some blessing or other for the army, 
until they found themselves with another tribe. 
To this he readily assented, and with the utmost 
cordiality showed them the cellar where the wine 
was buried. For this night then, having taken 
up their several quarters as described, they slum- 
bered in the midst of plenty, one and all, with 
the headman under watch and ward, and his 
children with him safe in sight. 

But on the following day Xenophon took the 
headman and set off to Cheirisophus, making a 
round of the villages, and at each place turning 
in to visit the different parties. Kiverywhere 
alike he found them faring sumptuously and 
merry-making. 'There was not a single village 
where they did not insist on setting a breakfast 
before them, and on the same table were spread 
half a dozen dishes at least, lamb, kid, pork, 
veal, fowls, with various sorts of bread, some of 
wheat and some of barley. When, as an act of 
courtesy, any one wished to drink his neigh- 
bour’s health, he would drag him to the big 


810 XENOPHON 


bowl, and when there, he must duck his head and 
take a long pull, drinking like an ox. The head- 
man, they insisted everywhere, must accept as a 
present whatever he liked to have. But he would 
accept nothing, except where he espied any of 
his relations, when he made a point of taking 
them off, him or her, with himself. 

When they reached Cheirisophus they found 
a similar scene. There too the men were feast- 
ing in their quarters, garlanded with whisps of 
hay and dry grass, and Armenian boys were 
playing the part of waiters in barbaric costumes, 
only they had to point out by gesture to the 
boys what they were to do, like deaf and dumb. 
After the first formalities, when Cheirisophus 
and Xenophon had greeted one another like 
bosom friends, they interrogated the headman 
in common by means of the Persian-speaking 
interpreter, “What was the country?” they 
asked: he replied, “Armenia.” And again, 
“ For whom are the horses being bred?” “ They 
are tribute for the king,” he replied. “ And 
the neighbouring country?” “Is the land of 
the Chalybes,” he said; and he described the road 
which led to it. So for the present Xenophon 
went off, taking the headman back with him to 
his household and friends. He also made him 
a present of an oldish horse which he had got; 
he had heard that the headman was a priest of 
the sun, and so he could fatten up the beast and 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 311 


sacrifice him; otherwise he was afraid it might 
die outright, for it had been injured by the long 
marching. For himself he took his pick of the 
colts, and gave a colt apiece to each of his fellow- 
generals and officers. ‘The horses here were 
smaller than the Persian horses, but much more 
spirited. It was here too that their friend the 
headman explained to them, how they should 
wrap small bags or sacks round the feet of the 
horses and other cattle when marching through 
the snow, for without such precautions the crea- 
tures sank up to their bellies. 

VI.—When a week had passed, on the eighth 
day Xenophon delivered over the guide (that is 
to say, the village headman) to Cheirisophus. 
He left the headman’s household safe behind in 
the village, with the exception of his son, a lad 
in the bloom of his youth. This boy was en- 
trusted to Episthenes of Amphipolis to guard; 
if the headman proved himself a good guide, 
he was to take away his son also at his departure. 
They finally made his house the repository of 
all the good things they could contrive to get 
together; then they broke up their camp and 
commenced the march, the headman guiding 
them through the snow unfettered. When they 
had reached the third stage Cheirisophus flew 
into a rage with him, because he had not brought 
them to any villages. The headman pleaded 
that there were none in this part. Cheirisophus 


312 XENOPHON 


struck him, but forgot to bind him, and the end 
of it was that the headman ran away in the 
night and was gone, leaving his son behind him. 
This was the sole ground of difference between 
Cheirisophus and Xenophon during the march, 
this combination of ill-treatment and neglect in 
the case of the guide. As to the boy, Episthenes 
conceived a passion for him, and took him home 
with him, and found in him the most faithful of 
friends. 

After this they marched seven stages at the 
rate of five parasangs a day, to the banks of the 
river Phasis,* which is a hundred feet broad: and 
thence they marched another couple of stages, 
ten parasangs; but at the pass leading down into 
the plain there appeared in front of them a 
mixed body of Chalybes and Taochians and 
Phasianians. When Cheirisophus caught sight 
of the enemy on the pass at a distance of about 
three or four miles, he ceased marching, not 
caring to approach the enemy with his troops in 
column, and he passed down the order to the 
others: to deploy their companies to the front, 
that the troops might form into line. As soon 
as the rearguard had come up, he assembled the 
generals and officers, and addressed them: 
“The enemy, as you see, are in occupation of 
the mountain pass, it is time we should consider 
how we are to make the best fight to win it. My 

4 Probably the Araxes, possibly it had this local name. 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 313 


opinion is, that we should give orders to the 
troops to take their morning meal, whilst we 
deliberate whether we should cross the moun- 
tains to-day or to-morrow.” “My opinion,” 
said Cleanor, “ is, that as soon as we have break- 
fasted, we should arm for the fight and attack 
the enemy, without loss of time, for if we fritter 
away to-day, the enemy who are now content to 
look at us, will grow bolder, and with their 
growing courage, depend upon it, others more 
numerous will join them.” 

After him Xenophon spoke: “ This,” he said, 
“is how I see the matter; if fight we must, let 
us make preparation to sell our lives dearly, but 
if we desire to cross with the greatest ease, the 
point to consider is, how we may get the fewest 
wounds and throw away the smallest number of 
good men. Well then, that part of the moun- 
tain which is visible stretches nearly seven miles. 
Where are the men posted to intercept us? ex- 
_ cept at the road itself, they are nowhere to be 
seen. It is much better then to try if possible 
to steal a point of this desert mountain unob- 
served, and before they know where we are, se- 
cure the prize, than to fly at a strong position 
and an enemy thoroughly prepared. Since it is 
much easier to march up a mountain without 
fighting than to tramp along a level when assail- 
ants are on either hand; and provided he has not 
to fight, a man will see what lies at his feet 


814 XENOPHON 


much more plainly even at night than in broad 
daylight in the midst of battle; and a rough 
road to feet that roam in peace may be pleas- 
anter than a smooth surface with the bullets 
whistling about your ears. Nor is it so impos- 
sible, I take it, to steal a march, since it is open 
to us to go by night, when we cannot be seen, 
and to fall back so far that they will never no- 
tice us. In my opinion, however, if we make a 
feint of attacking here, we shall find the moun- 
tain chain all the more deserted elsewhere, since 
the enemy will be waiting for us here in thicker 
swarm. 

“But what right have I to be drawing con- 
clusions about stealing in your presence, Chei- 
risophus? for you Lacedemonians, as I have 
often been told, you who belong to the ‘ peers,’ 
practise stealing from your boyhood up; and it 
is no disgrace but honourable rather to steal, ex- 
cept such things as the law forbids; and in order, 
I presume, to stimulate your sense of secretive- 
ness, and to make you master thieves, it is law- 
ful for you further to get a whipping, if you 
are caught. Now then you have a fine oppor- 
tunity of displaying your training. But take 
care we are not caught stealing over the moun- 
tain, or we shall catch it ourselves.” “ For all 
that,” retorted Cheirisophus, “1 have heard that 
you Athenians are clever hands at stealing the 
public moneys; and that too though there is 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 315 


fearful risk for the person so employed; but, I 
am told, it is your best men who are most ad- 
dicted to it; if it is your best men who are 
thought worthy to rule. So it is a fine oppor- 
tunity for yourself also, Xenophon, to exhibit 
your education.” “And I,” replied Xenophon, 
“am ready to take the rear division, as soon as 
we have supped, and seize the mountain chain. 
I have already got guides, for the light troops 
laid an ambuscade, and seized some of the cut- 
purse vagabonds who hung on our rear. I am 
further informed by them that the mountain is 
not inaccessible, but is grazed by goats and cat- 
tle, so that if we can once get hold of any por- 
tion of it, there will be no difficulty as regards 
our animals—they can cross. As to the enemy, 
I expect they will not even wait for us any 
longer, when they once see us on a level with 
themselves on the heights, for they do not even 
at present care to come down and meet us on 
fair ground.” Cheirisophus answered: “ But 
why should you go and leave your command in 
the rear? Send others rather, unless a band of 
volunteers will present themselves.” Thereupon 
Aristonymus the Methydrian came forward 
with some heavy infantry, and Aristeas the 
Chian with some light troops, and Nicomachus 
the Oetean with another body of light troops, 
and they made an agreement to kindle several 
watch-fires as soon as they held the heights. The 


816 XENOPHON 


arrangements made, they breakfasted; and 
after breakfast Cheirisophus advanced the 
whole army ten furlongs closer towards the 
enemy, so as to strengthen the impression that 
he intended to attack them at that point. 

But as soon as they had supped and night had 
fallen, the party under orders set off and occu- 
pied the mountain, while the main body rested 
where they were. Now as soon as the enemy 
perceived that the mountain was taken, they 
banished all thought of sleep, and kept many 
watch-fires blazing through the night. But at 
break of day Cheirisophus offered sacrifice, and 
began advancing along the road, while the de- 
tachment which held the mountain advanced pari 
passu by the high ground. The larger mass of 
the enemy, on his side, remained still on the 
mountain-pass, but a section of them turned to 
confront the detachment on the heights. Before 
the main bodies had time to draw together, the 
detachment on the height came to close quarters, 
and the Hellenes were victorious and gave chase. 
Meanwhile the light division of the Hellenes, 
issuing from the plain, were rapidly advancing 
against the serried lines of the enemy, whilst 
Cheirisophus followed up with his heavy infan- 
try at quick march. But the enemy on the road 
no sooner saw their higher division being 
worsted than they fled, and some few of them 
were slain, and a vast number of wicker shields 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 817 


were taken, which the Hellenes hacked to pieces 
with their short swords and rendered useless. 
So when they had reached the summit of the 
pass, they sacrificed and set up a trophy, and 
descending into the plain, reached villages 
abounding in good things of every kind. 
VII.—After this they marched into the coun- 
try of the Taochians five stages—thirty para- 
sangs—and provisions failed; for the Taochians 
lived in strong places, into which they had car- 
ried up all their stores. Now when the army ar- 
rived before one of these strong places—a mere 
fortress, without city or houses, into which a 
motley crowd of men and women and numerous 
flocks and herds were gathered—Cheirisophus 
attacked at once. When the first regiment fell 
back tired, a second advanced, and again a third, 
for it was impossible to surround the place in 
full force, as it was encircled by a river. Pres- 
ently Xenophon came up with the rearguard, 
consisting of both light and heavy infantry, 
whereupon Cheirisophus hailed him with the 
words: “In the nick of time you have come; 
we must take this place, for the troops have no 
provisions, unless we take it.” ‘Thereupon they 
consulted together, and to Xenophon’s inquiry, 
“ What it was which hindered their simply walk- 
ing in?” Cheirisophus replied, “'There is just 
this one narrow approach which you see; but 
when we attempt to pass by it they roll down 


318 XENOPHON 


volleys of stones from yonder overhanging 
crag;” pointing up, “and this is the state in 
which you find yourself, if you chance to be 
caught;” and he pointed to some poor fellows 
with their legs or ribs crushed to bits. “ But 
when they have expended their ammunition,” 
said Xenophon, “there is nothing else, is there, 
to hinder our passing? Certainly, except yonder 
handful of fellows, there is no one in front of 
us that we can see; and of them, only two or 
three apparently are armed, and the distance to 
be traversed under fire is, as your eyes will tell 
you, about one hundred and fifty feet as near 
as can be, and of this space the first hundred is 
thickly covered with great pines at intervals; 
under cover of these, what harm can come to our 
men from a pelt of stones, flying or rolling? 
So then, there is only fifty feet left to cross, dur- 
ing a lull of stones.” “ Ay,” said Cheirisophus, 
“but with our first attempt to approach the bush 
a galling fire of stones commences.” “ The very 
thing we want,” said the other, “for they will 
use up their ammunition all the quicker; but let 
us select a point from which we shall have only a 
brief space to run across, if we can, and from 
which it will be easier to get back, if we wish.” 

Thereupon Cheirisophus and Xenophon set 
out with Callimachus the Parrhasian, the cap- 
tain in command of the officers of the rearguard 
that day; the rest of the captains remained out 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 819 


of danger. That done, the next step was for a 
party of about seventy men to get away under 
the trees, not in a body, but one by one, every 
one using his best precaution; and Agasias the 
Stymphalian, and Aristonymus the Methydrian, 
who were also officers of the rearguard, were 
posted as supports outside the trees; for it was 
not possible for more than a single company to 
stand safely within the trees. Here Callimachus 
hit upon a pretty contrivance—he ran forward 
from the tree under which he was posted two 
or three paces, and as soon as the stones came 
whizzing, he retired easily, but at each excursion 
more than ten wagon-loads of rocks were ex- 
pended. Agasias, seeing how Callimachus was 
amusing himself, and the whole army looking 
on as spectators, was seized with the fear that 
he might miss his chance of being first to run 
the gauntlet of the enemy’s fire and get into 
the place. So, without a word of summons to 
his next neighbour, Aristonymus, or to Eurylo- 
chus of Lusia, both comrades of his, or to any 
one else, off he set on his own account, and 
passed the whole detachment. But Callimachus, 
seeing him tearing past, caught hold of his shield 
by the rim, and in the meantime Aristonymus 
the Methydrian ran past both, and after him 
Eurylochus of Lusia; for they were one and all 
aspirants to valour, and in that high pursuit, 
each was the eager rival of the rest. So in this 


820 XENOPHON 


strife of honour, the three of them took the for- 
tress, and when they had once rushed in, not a 
stone more was hurled from overhead. 

And here a terrible spectacle displayed itself: 
the women first cast their infants down the cliff, 
and then they cast themselves after their fallen 
little ones, and the men likewise. In such a 
scene, Atneas the Etymphalian, an officer, 
caught sight of a man with a fine dress about 
to throw himself over, and seized hold of him 
to stop him; but the other caught him to his 
arms, and both were gone in an instant headlong 
down the crags, and were killed. Out of this 
place the merest handful of human beings were 
taken prisoners, but cattle and asses in abun- 
dance and flocks of sheep. 

From this place they marched through the 
Chalybes seven stages, fifty parasangs. ‘These 
were the bravest men whom they encountered on 
the whole march, coming cheerily to close quar- 
ters with them. They wore linen cuirasses reach- 
ing to the groin, and instead of the ordinary 
“wings” or basques, a thickly-plaited fringe of 
cords. They were also provided with greaves 
and helmets, and at the girdle a short sabre, 
about as long as the Spartan dagger, with which 
they cut the throats of those they mastered, and 
after severing the head from the trunk they 
would march along carrying it, singing and 
dancing, when they drew within their enemy’s 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 321 


field of view. ‘They carried also a spear fifteen 
cubits long, lanced at one end. This folk stayed 
in regular townships, and whenever the Hel- 
lenes passed by they invariably hung close on 
their heels fighting. They had dwelling-places 
in their fortresses, and into them they had car- 
ried up their supplies, so that the Hellenes could 
get nothing from this district, but supported 
themselves on the flocks and herds they had 
taken from the Taochians. After this the Hel- 
lenes reached the river Harpasus, which was 
four hundred feet broad. Hence they marched 
through the Scythenians four stages—twenty 
parasangs—through a long level country to 
more villages, among which they halted three 
days, and got in supplies. 

Passing on from thence in four stages of 
twenty parasangs, they reached a large and pros- 
perous well-populated city, which went by the 
name of Gymnias, from which the governor of 
the country sent them a guide to lead them 
through a district hostile to his own. This guide 
told them that within five days he would lead 
them to a place from which they would see the 
sea, “and,” he added, “if I fail of my word, you 
are free to take my life.” Accordingly he put 
himself at their head; but he no sooner set foot 
in the country hostile to himself than he fell to 
encouraging them to burn and harry the land; 
indeed his exhortations were so earnest, it was 


322 XENOPHON 


plain that it was for this he had come, and not 
out of the good-will he bore the Hellenes. 

On the fifth day they reached the mountain, 
the name of which was Theches. No sooner had 
the men in front ascended it and caught sight of 
the sea than a great cry arose, and Xenophon, 
with the rearguard, catching the sound of it, 
conjectured that another set of enemies must 
surely be attacking in front; for they were fol- 
lowed by the inhabitants of the country, which 
was all aflame; indeed, the rearguard had killed 
some and captured others alive by laying an am- 
buscade; they had taken also about twenty 
wicker shields, covered with the raw hides of 
shaggy oxen. 

But as the shout became louder and nearer, 
and those who from time to time came up, be- 
gan racing at the top of their speed towards 
the shouters, and the shouting continually re- 
commenced with yet greater volume as the num- 
bers increased, Xenophon settled in his mind 
that something extraordinary must have hap- 
pened, so he mounted his horse, and taking with 
him Lycius and the cavalry, he galloped to the 
rescue. Presently they could hear the soldiers 
shouting and passing on the joyful word, The 
sea! the sea! 

Thereupon they began running, rearguard, 
and all, and the baggage animals and horses. 
came galloping up. But when they had reached 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 323 


the summit, then indeed they fell to embracing 
one another—generals and officers and all—and 
the tears trickled down their cheeks. And on a 
sudden, some one, whoever it was, having 
passed down the order, the soldiers began bring- 
ing stones and erecting a great cairn, whereon 
they dedicated a host of untanned skins, and 
staves, and captured wicker shields, and with 
his own hand the guide hacked the shields to 
pieces, inviting the rest to follow his example. 
After this the Hellenes dismissed the guide with 
a present raised from the common store, to wit, 
a horse, a silver bowl, a Persian dress, and ten 
darics; but what he most begged to have were 
their rings, and of these he got several from the 
soldiers. So, after pointing out to them a vil- 
lage where they would find quarters, and the road 
by which they would proceed towards the land 
of the Macrones, as evening fell, he turned his 
back upon them in the night and was gone. 

VIII.—F rom this point the Hellenes marched 
through the country of the Macrones three 
stages of ten parasangs, and on the first day 
they reached the river, which formed the bound- 
ary between the land of the Macrones and the 
land of the Scythenians. Above them, on their 
right, they had a country of the sternest and 
ruggedest character, and on their left another 
river, into which the frontier river discharges 
itself, and which they must cross. ‘This was 


B24 XENOPHON 


thickly fringed with trees which, though not of 
any great bulk, were closely packed. As soon 
as they came up to them, the Hellenes proceeded 
to cut them down in their haste to get out of the 
place as soon as possible. But the Macrones, 
armed with wicker shields and lances and hair 
tunics, were already drawn up to receive them 
immediately opposite the crossing. They were 
cheering one another on, and kept up a steady 
pelt of stones into the river, though they failed 
to reach the other side or do any harm. 

At this juncture one of the light infantry 
came up to Xenophon; he had been, he said, a 
slave at Athens, and he wished to tell him that 
he recognised the speech of these people. “I 
think,” said he, “this must be my native coun- 
try, and if there is no objection I will have a 
talk with them.” “ No objection at all,” replied 
Xenophon, “pray talk to them, and ask them 
first, who they are.” In answer to this question 
they said, “they were Macrones.” “Well, 
then,” said he, “ask them why they are drawn 
up in battle and want to fight with us.” They 
answered, “ Because you are invading our coun- 
try.” The generals bade him say: “If so, it 
is with no intention certainly of doing it or you 
any harm: but we have been at war with the 
king, and are now returning to Hellas, and all 
-we want is to reach the sea.” ‘The others asked, 
“were they willing to give them pledges to that 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 325 


effect?” ‘They replied: ‘‘ Yes, they were ready 
to give and receive pledges to that effect.” Then 
the Macrones gave a barbaric lance to the Hel- 
lenes, and the Hellenes a Hellenic lance to them: 
“for these,” they said, “ would serve as pledges,” 
and both sides called upon the gods to witness. 
After the pledges were exchanged, the Ma- 
crones fell to vigorously hewing down trees and 
constructing a road to help them across, mingling 
freely with the Hellenes and fraternising in their 
midst, and they afforded them as good a market 
as they could, and for three days conducted them 
on their march, until they had brought them 
safely to the confines of the Colchians. At this 
point they were confronted by a great mountain 
chain, which, however, was accessible, and on it 
the Colchians were drawn up for battle. In the 
first instance, the Hellenes drew up opposite in 
line of battle, as though they were minded to as- 
sault the hill in that order; but afterwards the 
generals determined to hold a council of war, 
and consider how to make the fairest fight. 
Accordingly Xenophon said: “1 am not for 
advancing in line, but advise to form companies 
by columns. To begin with, the line,” he urged, 
“would be scattered and thrown into disorder 
at once; for we shall find the mountain full of 
inequalities, it will be pathless here and easy to 
traverse there. The mere fact of first having 
formed in line, and then seeing the line thrown 


826 XENOPHON 


into disorder, must exercise a disheartening ef- 
fect. Again, if we advance several deep, the 
enemy will none the less overlap us, and turn 
their superfluous numbers to account as_ best 
they like; while, if we march in shallow order, 
we may fully expect our line to be cut through 
and through by the thick rain of missiles and 
rush of men, and if this happen anywhere along 
the line, the whole line will equally suffer. No; 
my notion is to form columns by companies, 
covering ground sufficient with spaces between 
the companies to allow the last companies of 
each flank to be outside the enemy’s flanks. Thus 
we shall with our extreme companies be outside 
the enemy’s line, and the best men at the head 
of their columns will lead the attack, and every 
company will pick its way where the ground is 
easy; also it will be difficult for the enemy to 
force his way into the intervening spaces, when 
there are companies on both sides; nor will it be 
easy for him to cut in twain any individual com- 
pany marching in column. If, too, any particu- 
lar company should be pressed, the neighbouring 
company will come to the rescue, or if at any 
point any single company succeed in reaching 
the height, from that moment not one man of 
the enemy will stand his ground.” 

This proposal was carried, and they formed 
into columns by companies. Then Xenophon, 
returning from the right wing to the left, ad- 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 327 


dressed the soldiers. ‘‘ Men,” he said, “ these 
men whom you see in front of you are the sole 
obstacles still interposed between us and the 
haven of our hopes so long deferred. We will 
swallow them up whole, without cooking,’ if we 
can.” 

The several divisions fell into position, the 
companies were formed into columns, and the 
result was a total of something like eighty com- 
panies of heavy infantry, each company consist- 
ing on an average of a hundred men. The light 
infantry and bowmen were arranged in three 
divisions—two outside to support the left and 
the right respectively, and the third in the cen- 
tre—each division consisting of about six hun- 
dred men. 

Before starting, the generals passed the order 
to offer prayer; and with the prayer and battle 
hymn rising from their lips they commenced 
their advance. Cheirisophus and Xenophon, and 
the light infantry with them, advanced outside 
the enemy’s line to right and left, and the en- 
emy, seeing their advance, made an effort to 
keep parallel and confront them, but in order 
to do so, as he extended partly to right and 
partly to left, he was pulled to pieces, and there 
was a large space or hollow left in the centre of 


6 Or, “we will gobble them raw.” He is thinking of the 
Homeric line, “ Perchance wert thou to enter within the gates 
and long walls and devour Priam raw, and Priam’s sons and 
all the Trojans, then mightest thou assuage thine anger.” 


328 XENOPHON 
his line. Seeing them separate thus, the light 
infantry attached to the Arcadian battalion, un- 
der command of A‘schines, an Acarnanian, mis- 
took the movement for flight, and with a loud 
shout rushed on, and these were the first to scale 
the mountain summit; but they were closely fol- 
lowed up by the Arcadian heavy infantry, under | 
command of Cleanor of Orchomenus. : 
When they began running in that way, the: 
enemy stood their ground no longer, but betook | 
themselves to flight, one in one direction, one in 
another, and the Hellenes scaled the hill and. 
found quarters in numerous villages which con- 
tained supplies in abundance. Here, generally 
speaking, there was nothing to excite their won- 
derment, but the numbers of bee-hives were in- 
deed astonishing, and so were certain properties 
of the honey. The effect upon the soldiers who 
tasted the combs was, that they all went for the 
nonce quite off their heads, and suffered from 
vomiting and diarrhoea, with a total inability to 
stand steady on their legs. A small dose_pro- 
duced a condition not unlike violent drunken- 
ness, a large one an attack very like a fit of 
madness, and some dropped down, apparently 
at death’s door. .So they lay, hundreds of them, 
as if there had been a great defeat, a prey to the 
cruellest despondency. But the next day, none 
had died; and almost at the same hour of the 
day at which they had eaten they recovered their 


ANABASIS BOOK IV 329 


senses, and on the third or fourth day got on 
their legs again like convalescents after a severe 
course of medical treatment. 

From this place they marched on two stages 
—seven parasangs—and reached the sea at Tra- 
pezus, a populous Hellenic city on the Euxine 
Sea, a colony of the Sinopeans, in the territory 
of the Colchians. Here they halted about thirty 
days in the villages of the Colchians, which they 
used as a base of operations to ravage the whole 
territory of Colchis. The men of Trapezus 
supplied the army with a market, entertained 
them, and gave them, as gifts of hospitality, 
oxen and wheat and wine. Further, they ne- 
gotiated with them in behalf of their neighbours 
the Colchians who dwelt in the plain for the 
most part, and from this folk also came gifts 
of hospitality in the shape of cattle. And now 
the Hellenes made preparation for the sacrifice 
which they had vowed, and a sufficient number 
of cattle came in for them to offer thank-offer- 
ings for safe guidance to Zeus the Saviour, and 
to Heracles, and to the other gods, according to 
their vows. ‘They instituted also a gymnastic 
contest on the mountain side, just where they 
were quartered, and chose Dracontius, a Spar- 
tan (who had been banished from home when a 
lad, having unintentionally slain another boy 
with a blow of his dagger), to superintend the 
course, and be president of the games. 


330 XENOPHON 


As soon as the sacrifices were over, they handed 
over the hides of the beasts to Dracontius, and 
bade him lead the way to his racecourse. He 
merely waved his hand and pointed to where they 
were standing, and said, “ There, this ridge is 
just the place for running, anywhere, every- 
where.” “ But how,” it was asked, “will they 
manage to wrestle on the hard scrubby ground?” 
“Oh! worse knocks for those who are thrown,” 
the president replied. There was a mile race for 
boys, the majority being captive lads; and for 
the long race more than sixty Cretans competed; 
there was wrestling, boxing, and the pankration.° 
Altogether it was a beautiful spectacle. There 
was a large number of entries, and the emula- 
tion, with their companions, male and female, 
standing as spectators, was immense. 'There was 
horse-racing also; the riders had to gallop down 
a steep incline to the sea, and then turn and come 
up again to the altar, and on the descent more 
than half rolled head over heels, and then back 
they came toiling up the tremendous steep, 
scarcely out of a walking pace. Loud were the 
shouts, the laughter, and the cheers. 


6 The pankration combined both wrestling and boxing. 


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